Only Time Will Tell
by Caryl Warrior
Summary: High school AU. Best friends Carol and Daryl navigate their relationship as they become more than friends. Previously published under the name Bring me to Life
1. Chapter 1

_Sixteen_ _-_ _year_ _-old_ _Carol sat on the floor against her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest. How could she have been so stupid to let this happen_ _?_ _She looked at the white stick sitting on the floor next to her. Two pink lines star_ _ed_ _up at her. Accusing._

'You let this happen _', s_ _he screamed at herself_ _._

 _She had believed Ed_ _when he told her he loved her. She should have known it was just a lie to get what he wanted from her. He was three years older than her_ _,_ _she should have known better. How was she going to tell people? What were they going to think of her? Her uncle was going to be so disappointed in her._

 _She had gone to live with her Uncle Dale after her parents had been killed in a car accident when she was twelve. He was already raising his daughters_ _,_ _Andrea and Amy_ _, on_ _his own after her Aunt Irma had died from cancer. He had done so much for her. This was going to make things so much harder on him._

 _Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door._

" _Hey_ _,_ _you in here?"_ _H_ _er best friend Daryl Dixon poked his head into the room._

" _I'm here_ _,_ _"_ _s_ _he called from the end of the bed_ _, q_ _uickly wiping her tears. She didn't want him to see she had been crying._

" _What the hell ya doin_ _'_ _? I rang the bell. Nobody answered_ _,"_ _he said_ _,_ _walking over to where she was sitting and looked down at her._

" _Sorry," she shrugged. "Andrea took Amy to the park and Dale had to go to the shop. I guess I didn't hear it_ _," s_ _he sniffled._

 _He narrowed his eyes at her and tilted his head in the way she had learned he did when he knew she was hiding something from him._

 _He flopped down on the floor next to her. "What_ _'_ _s wrong? Why ya crying?"_

 _She shook her head. "I'm fine_ _,_ _"_ _h_ _er voice wavered._

 _He nudged her with his elbow. "Come on. Whose ass do I need to kick?"_

 _She gave him a sad smile. "Mine_ _,_ _I guess."_

" _What?"_

 _She reached under the bed where she shoved the test when he came into the room. She pulled it out and handed it to him._

 _He stared at it for a few seconds before speaking. "Are you sure? I mean_ _,_ _is this right?"_

 _She nodded. "Yeah. I took two just to be sure."_

" _Damn_ _," h_ _e said_ _,_ _slumping against the bed._

" _Yeah." She took the test back from him and clutched_ _it_ _in her hand._

" _Who?" he asked._

" _Who do you think?"_ _S_ _tanding up she walked to the trash can to throw the test away._

" _Damn it_ _,_ _Carol. I told you not to go out with him."_

 _He knew her dating that dumbass was only going to lead to trouble._

" _Fine! Your were right. I should_ _have_ _listened to you. He was_ _a_ _jerk. He got what he wanted and then he was done with me_ _," s_ _he said_ _,_ _wiping the tears that had started again._

" _You told me you broke up with him, because you realized you didn't really like him."_

" _I know_ _,_ _I was embarrassed. I believed he cared about me. And I felt stupid for falling for his lies."_

 _Daryl_ _'s_ _nostrils flared and he started for the front door._

" _Wait! Where are you going?"_ _S_ _he caught up to him at the door. She put her hand over his on the knob to prevent him from leaving._

" _I'm gonna go find that asshole. And I'm_ _gonna_ _kick his ass."_

" _Don't_ _,_ _okay_ _?_ _You'll get into trouble. And his dumb_ _ass isn't worth it."_

 _He let go of the doorknob. "Carol."_

" _Please_ _,_ _" She_ _begged,_ _tugging on his hand._

" _Fine. Does he know yet?"_

 _Carol shook her head. "He probably won't care."_

 _He no_ _dd_ _ed his head. "What about your uncle?"_

" _Not yet. He_ _'s_ _going to hate me. He's going to be so mad_ _," s_ _he sobbed._

" _Fuck_ _,_ _Carol_ _. D_ _on't cry." He pulled her against him and wrapped his arm around her. "He ain_ _'_ _t_ _gonna_ _hate you. He loves you. I reckon he'll be upset. He's a good guy. He_ _ain't gonna_ _hate you."_

" _I know. I just_ _…_ _I'm scared."_

" _It'll be okay. Will it help if I'm here when you tell him_ _?_ _"_

" _You don't have to do that. It's not your responsibility."_

" _Will it help?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Okay then. I'll be here."_

Carol awoke to a blaring alarm and small fingers poking her in the eye, prying her eyelid open. She opened her eyes to see her two-year-old daughter Sophia staring down at her, her face less than two inches from her own.

"Mama breakfast." She tugged on Carol's arm in an attempt to pull her from the bed.

"Five more minutes," she said and playfully pulled the covers over her head.

"No, Mama up." Sophia yanked on the cover.

"Okay, okay. I'm up," she said, scooping her daughter up and tickling her stomach.

Sophia giggled trying to get away. "Mama stop." She wiggled out of Carol's arms and ran down the hall towards the kitchen, Carol following close behind.

"Morning Uncle Dale," she said, walking to the coffee pot and pouring a cup.

"Morning, sweetheart," he said, handing her the creamer before she could ask.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip. "Andrea and Amy leave already?"

"Yes. I have to get to the shop early, so Andrea is dropping Amy off at school today. I fed Sophia already. There's some toast and bacon if you're hungry."

"You didn't have to."

"I'm happy to do it. You know how I love that little girl," he said, gathering up his keys and the things he needed for work.

"I know you do. Thank you." She said giving him a hug.

"You're welcome." He leaned down and gave Sophia a kiss on the head. "Behave for your Mama. See you tonight," he said as he walked out the door.

Carol picked a couple pieces of bacon and wrapped them in the toast while watching Sophia color a picture of a duck purple. She smiled as she watched her daughter.

It was hard when she found out she was pregnant. She was scared and didn't know what to do. But she loved her daughter more than anything, and couldn't imagine not having her.

She looked up at the clock. It was getting late. "Come on, Sophia. We've got to get ready to go," she said, stretching out her hand. Sophia grabbed her hand and followed her down the hall.

She was glad she didn't have to be at school until nine. It gave her a little more time to get ready in the morning. She was in a work study program in which you went to school from nine until one and then you went to work, and you received credit for it as long has the job was in your field of study. She was currently working six hours after school at a daycare center. She was planning on becoming an elementary school teacher.

One of the good things about it was that it was the same daycare center she sent Sophia to while she was at school. She liked having her close by like that. Just in case something happened, she would be right there. The owner also gave her a discount on the fee since she worked there. She was grateful for that. She liked being able to pay for it herself. She felt guilty any time Uncle Dale paid for something. She knew he didn't mind, but she liked being able to do things for herself.

She took out clothes for herself and Sophia. She needed to dress Sophia first since she knew it took longer with all the squirming around she did.

"Sophia, which shirt do you want? Blue or purple."

"None," she declared.

It was going to be a long day.

"Sophia, get back here," yelled Carol as she gathered up a trail of clothing left by her two-year-old daughter, who darted out of her reach and made a beeline for the kitchen.

Somehow in the two minutes it took Carol to get dressed Sophia had managed to take of every piece of clothing she had put on her; leaving a trail leading from Carol's room to the kitchen.

Lately she had decided she didn't like clothes and decided to take them off whenever she saw fit. The last time had been two days ago at the grocery store, much to her horror and Daryl's amusement. However, he did help her get the clothes back on before too many people saw that she couldn't keep clothes on her own child.

"Come on, Sophia." She said as she lifted her to stand on the kitchen chair. "You have to wear clothes."

Carol patted Sophia's leg, so she would lift it.. "Come on. Lift."

"No." Sophia crossed her arms over her chest and plopped down in the chair. She stuck out her bottom lip and scowled. "Don't like clothes."

She spent so much time with Daryl that she was starting to develop a lot of his mannerisms. She would swear sometimes if the light was right she looked just like Daryl. That was silly, Daryl wasn't her father. Carol sometimes wished he was, though. But it was wrong to wish that kind of responsibility on her best friend.

Lately Carol had been developing more than platonic feelings for her best friend. She wasn't sure when it started or what she was supposed to do about it. She didn't know if he felt the same, even though her friend Michonne said he did. She didn't want to risk ruining their friendship by opening her big mouth and declaring her feelings.

"Sophia, you have to get dressed. Mommy's going to be late for school." _That sounded weird._ "If you don't get dressed you won't be able to go to daycare and play with the other kids. And I know how much you like that."

With a sigh Sophia lifted her arms above her head so Carol could pull her shirt on. "Good girl."

In less time than it took her to remove them, Carol had her clothes and shoes back on, and pulled her strawberry blonde hair into to pigtails.

She threw the diaper bag over her shoulder, grabbed her purse in one hand, grabbed Sophia's hand in the other, and was out the door.

After getting Sophia strapped into her car seat she climbed into the front to start the car. It made clicking noise and refused turn over.

"Oh, come on," she said and tried again. Nothing. She sighed, "Great."

Everybody had already left the house for work or school. Carol pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She hoped Daryl hadn't left for school yet, since he went at the same time she did; he probably hadn't. He was in the work study program too, and wanted to be a mechanic. He worked after school with her Uncle Dale at his garage. She hit the speed dial on her phone and put it to her ear as it started ringing.


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl walked down the hall towards the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He could smell pancakes and coffee and knew his mom was up.

"It's about time you got up," his mom said as she leaned against the counter, sipping a cup a coffee.

He grunted a response and picked up a plate, put several pancakes on it, soaked them in syrup and poured a cup of coffee.

"That's all I get – a grunt. Can't even say good morning to your mother," Said Mary, raising an eyebrow at him.

He looked up to see an amused expression on her face. "Mornin'," he said through a mouthful of pancakes.

She laughed. "Merle called this morning. He's coming home for a month's leave."

"When's he get here?" he hadn't seen his brother in two and a half years. It would be the first time he came home since he joined the Marines.

"He said he'd be here by Friday."

"That's great. I really missed him."

"I know you did." She poured another cup of coffee. "So did you think about what I said?"

"I ain't going to no stupid homecoming dance," he said, taking his plate and putting it in the sink.

"Why not? I bet Carol would really like it if you asked her." She looked at over the rim of her coffee cup.

Mary knew how her son felt about his best friend, even though he had never said anything. However, she could tell in the way he looked at her. He always looked out for her. He treated her little girl as if she was his own. She knew there was something more there, even if neither of them did.

"It ain't like that, we're just friends. She doesn't see me like that." He wished she did. She had been his best friend since they were twelve. For the last year or so, he had been having feelings for that were more than just friendship. But he wasn't about to risk their friendship by telling her. Especially when he was sure she didn't feel the same. If all he ever got was friendship then he would be happy with that.

"Are you sure about that? You spend more time with her than you do with anybody else. I've seen the way you look at her."

"Doesn't mean nothing. She doesn't feel the same. So it doesn't matter." He groaned when realized he had blurted out the truth.

"That's what I thought. How do you know she doesn't feel the same? Have you asked her?"

"Why do you think she does?" He couldn't believe he was talking to his mom about this.

"I'm a woman. We know these types of things," she shrugged and sat her coffee cup in the sink.

He was starting to get uncomfortable. "I ain't talking about this with you, mom."

"Fine. Promise me you'll think about it. And I promise I won't bring it up again." She said as she started gathering her things for work.

She thought it was probably a little weird that she was poking around in his love life like this. But she just wanted him to be happy. After all, she had partially been the cause of a lot of his unhappiness in the past. So now, she wanted to do what she could to make sure he was happy. And if that meant giving him a shove in the right direction, then so be it.

"I promise," he grumbled.

"Good. I have to get to work now." She grabbed her keys on the way out the door. "Are you going to be home tonight?"

"Nah. Going over to Carol's." He looked up to see her smiling at him.

"We're going to study," he said defensively.

"Okay. Have good day," she said as she walked out the door.

He felt a little annoyed at his mom for interfering in his life like this, but he couldn't be too mad at her. He knew she was just trying to help. He was actually proud of his mom – she had come a long way the past five years. After his dad had gone to prison, she had found the courage to divorce him. And she had even gone to a rehab center. She still attended AA meetings once a week.

She had also opened her own diner with her friend, Jacqui. The business had really been thriving for the past three years.

He hadn't meant to tell her how he felt about Carol but it had just slipped out. He wondered if she could be right. Maybe there was a way to find out for sure without telling Carol how he really felt about her, just in case he was wrong. He would have to think about it.

After getting dressed, he grabbed his keys and wallet and was about to head out the door when his cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket.

"Hey, Carol….What's wrong?…It won't… Alright, I'm on my way…Bye."

He shut the door behind him and headed over to Carols.

When Daryl pulled into Carol's driveway, she was leaning against the trunk of the car while she watched Sophia draw in the dirt with a stick.

He got out of his truck and slammed the door as Sophia came barreling toward him.

"Dar, Dar," she screeched and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his legs. He lifted her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, 'Phia, how's it going?"

"Mama broke the car," she said, pointing at Carol.

"Did she, now?"

Sophia nodded.

"Well, why don't we see if can fix it?" He set Sophia on her feet and walked over to pop the hood. "So, you broke the car, huh?" He said, addressing Carol with a smirk.

"I didn't break it. It just won't start."

He chuckled. "I told you, you needed to let me or your uncle do a tune up on it." He moved to look under the hood.

"Is it bad?" asked Carol, looking under the hood while grabbing Sophia's hand to keep her from running off.

"Nah," he said, slamming the hood. "Need a new cable on your battery. See right here, where it's worn out." He pointed to the piece of cable that had worn through. " I can put a new one on tonight when I come over. Bring it by the garage this weekend and we'll give it a tune up."

"Great. So can I talk you into giving me and Sophia a ride?"

"I don't know. Sophia, what do you think? You think I should give your mom a ride?"

She reached her arms up towards him. "Up," she demanded. "I go play," she said placing her hands on the side of his face to make sure he was listening.

He chuckled. "Alright, let's go."

After getting Sophia and her car seat into the passenger side of the truck, Carol climbed across the driver's side to sit in the middle.

Daryl climbed in after her. How was he supposed to drive with her sitting so close to him? He watched her get settled into the seat and noticed she was wearing skirt that came to right above her knees. How was he supposed to concentrate on driving with her legs sticking out from under that skirt like that, taunting him? He wondered what it would feel like to run his hands up them. He bet they were really smooth.

He looked up to see Carol looking at him. She was giving him that look she gave him right before she got ready to give him shit about something.

"What?"

Her eyes crinkled and she smirked. "You were staring at my legs," she stated.

He put the truck in gear and backed out the driveway. "Was not." He ducked his head so she wouldn't see how red his face was.

"Yes, you were," she smiled. "Did you see something you liked?"

"Stop," he said, and felt his face burning. He really didn't mean for her to catch him.

She laughed, which in turn caused Sophia to laugh."You did, didn't you?"

"I will put you out on the side of the road," he threatened, making no move to actually stop the truck.

She gasped in mock horror. "You mean you would actually put me and my poor, helpless daughter on the side of the road?"

"Of course not," he smirked. "I would never leave Sophia on the side of the road." He gave her a shit eating grin.

She playfully smacked him on the arm and he laughed.

"Hey, guess what," he said.

"What?"

"Merle's coming home for a month's leave."

"Really? That's great! I know how much you've missed him. When's he getting here?" she asked.

"End of the week."

"Andrea will be really happy."

"Why would she be happy?" he asked. Last time he checked Andrea hated his brother.

"Because she has a really big crush on him," she said, then slapped her hand over her mouth. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that."

"Too late now."

"Daryl, you can't tell him. I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"You promised. I didn't promise anything," he said as he pulled in front of the daycare center.

"Come on, _please_?"

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin while putting the truck in park. "What will you give me if I keep quiet?"

 _Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me? I never say things like that to Carol._

Carol stared at Daryl. He didn't usually say things like that to her. She was usually the one who made 'risky' comments. He would get embarrassed, tell her to knock it off. But he'd never started it before.

And before she could stop herself or think about what she was saying. She leaned in close to him and said, "Whatever you want." She watched as Daryl's face turned red and he ducked his head. She suddenly felt self-conscious. She never felt that way around Daryl before.

What was going on with her?

 _What's going on is that your're in love with your best friend, her inner voice said_.

Dammit, her inner voice sounded suspiciously like her friend Michonne. Michonne had been on her for weeks to tell Daryl how she felt. If only she had some inkling of how he felt, then maybe she would. She shook her head. It was entirely too hot in this truck.

"Can you…? Um…" she gestured towards the door.

"Oh, yeah." He slid out so she could get out and go around to get Sophia.

After getting her out the car seat and grabbing her diaper bag, she walked around the front of the truck. "I'll be right back," She said. "Tell Daryl bye."

"Bye, Dar," she said and blew him a kiss.

"Bye 'Phia. I'll see you later. You behave yourself."

"I'll just be a few minutes," said Carol as she started for the building.

"Take ya time."

He was going to need a few minutes to force himself to relax. He groaned. This was going to be the longest fucking day ever.


	3. Chapter 3

"Carol. Carol, are you listening to me?" Andrea waved a hand in front of her face and then looked at Michonne.

Michonne shrugged her shoulders. "She is really out it," she said, taking a bite of French fry. "Ten bucks says she's thinking about Daryl."

"You're on," said Andrea.

They had been at lunch for ten minutes and Carol had barely said two words the entire time. It didn't take a rocket science to figure out what was on her mind. She had seen Daryl and Carol pull up to the school together in Daryl's truck. When they got out they had both practically ran in opposite directions despite the fact that their classes were in the same building.

Michonne snapped her fingers in front of Carol's face and waved her hand. Nothing.

"I have idea," said Andrea, scooting her chair around so she was facing Carol. She looked up and then waved. "Hi, Daryl!"

Carol snapped out her trance and turned her head looking around the courtyard, not seeing him anywhere. She turned back around to see Andrea and _Michonne_ trying their best not to laugh.

"So, what were you thinking about?" Michonne asked. "Or do I even need to ask?"

Carol sighed. She had been thinking about Daryl all morning. The rest of their ride to school had been spent in awkward silence. She hadn't meant to make things weird, but when she caught him staring at her legs like that she couldn't help but tease him a little.

"It's Daryl," she said.

"I knew it," said Michonne, holding out her hand to Andrea. Andrea reached into her purse, pulled out two fives, and handed them to Michonne.

"What's that about?" asked Carol.

"Don't worry about it," said Andrea. "You were saying," She made a get on with it motion with her hand.

Carol eyed them both for a moment before continuing. "He gave me ride this morning and I caught him staring at my legs."

"Can you blame the guy. You do have nice legs," Michonne said, leaning back to look at Carol's legs.

"Stop being weird," Carol said, pulling her legs out of view. "Anyway, when I caught him looking I teased him about it. I asked him if he saw anything he liked."

"Well, what did he say?" asked Andrea.

"He told me stop and then he got all red and embarrassed," she said, taking a sip from her Coke. "I was just teasing at first, but then …" she trailed off.

"Then what happened?" asked Michonne, leaning forward so she could hear better

"Well, I think he really was looking. And I…I kind of liked it. The looking," she said, her face getting red.

Michonne and Andrea shared a look and were quiet for so long that she was starting to get annoyed.

"What?" asked Carol. They wanted to know what was going on, and now they had nothing to say.

"Well," began Andrea. "You just-"

"What's she trying to say is, what we've been trying to tell you for weeks. You need to tell him how you feel."

"He doesn't-"

Michonne cut off whatever Carol was about to say. "Don't say he doesn't feel the same because that's bull. You just said you caught the boy staring at your legs." She held up her hand when she saw Carol was about to interrupt her. "He watches you all the time when you're not looking. Rick says he talks about you all the time. Carol _this_ , Carol _that_."

"He does?"

Michonne nodded. "Yes," she said. "Now, he's coming over tonight, right?" She didn't wait for answer, she already knew. "Just try talking to him tonight."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. You don't have to actually tell him outright, just drop some subtle hints. See if he responds. Wear that new shirt you got. He'll love it." Said Andrea

"I don't know about this," said Carol.

"It will work. Trust me," Andrea said, picking up her food tray.

Carol and Michonne followed suit. They walked over to dump their trays in the trashcan.

Michonne turned to her and grinned. "Don't be nervous. Just go for it. You're not going to be disappointed."

Daryl was leaning against his truck waiting for Carol to get out of class. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything but her all morning. He kept thinking about this morning. He hadn't meant for her to catch him staring like that. He thought she would have been mad. But she wasn't, and she had seemed kind of happy about it. He needed to figure this shit out.

"Hey man." Daryl looked to see his friend Rick walking towards him.

He nodded at him.

"Waiting on Carol?" he asked in tone that said he already knew that's exactly what he was doing.

Daryl knew Rick was getting ready to give him shit about something. He glared. "Yeah. Her car wouldn't start this morning."

"I heard," he said, leaning against the side of the truck. "Michonne told me," he said when Daryl gave him a questioning look.

"You two gossiping now?" he asked in annoyance. Ever since the two of them hooked up Rick had gotten really annoying.

"No, we were just talking. The subject came up. She also said you two have a date tonight."

"It ain't a date. We're just hanging out," he huffed. "When did you talk about this anyway? I'm surprised you two quit sucking face long enough to talk about anything."

Rick chose to ignore the comment and shrugged. "I'm just saying, date or not. If you don't make a move on her soon, somebody else might," he said, knowing the only way to get him do something was to give him a push. Rick knew how his friend felt about Carol and according to Michonne, Carol felt the same way. They both just needed a shove to get going. "I heard Blake was asking about her."

"What?" snapped Daryl. He hated that arrogant little prick. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he hated that guy. It always seemed like he was up to something. "What was he saying?"

"Nothing much," Rick shrugged. "He was just saying she was looking real good and was wondering if she was single."

Daryl growled. He wished he had something to throw. He'd be damned if that asshole went anywhere near Carol. There was something not right about that guy. He needed to get his shit together about Carol sooner rather than later.

"Think about it," said Rick, patting him on the shoulder and walking towards his car. He waved to Carol when he saw her making her way across the parking lot.

"You ready go?" asked Daryl when she made it to the truck.

"More than ready," she said as Daryl took her backpack and threw it in the bed of the truck. They climbed in pulled out of the lot and onto the road.


	4. Chapter 4

After picking her up at work and dropping her off at home, Daryl told Carol he would be back in an hour. He wanted to go home and change before he came over. He also needed to stop by the shop to get the cable he needed to fix her battery. She waved to him from the porch before she took Sophia inside.

"Where Dar go?" asked Sophia after they had walked into the house.

Carol squatted down so she was at eye level with her daughter. "He went to his house."

Sophia lower lip started tremble. "Coming back?"

"Yes, he's coming back. He's going to have dinner with us. Why don't you color him a picture while we wait?" She took Sophia's hand led her to the coffee table.

After getting Sophia settled down with her coloring book and a box of crayons; she went to her room to change into something more comfortable. She walked in to find Andrea digging through her closet.

"What are doing?" She asked, startling Andrea and causing her to hit her head on the door.

"You scared me," She said, rubbing her head. "I'm looking for something for you wear on your date."

"I don't have a date," Carol said indignantly, catching the shirt that Andrea tossed at her. It was the one she had bought last week. It was red, had long sleeves with openings on the shoulders, and was cinched at the waist.

"Put that on," She ordered. Carol sighed and took off the shirt she was wearing and put on the new shirt, knowing it would do no good to argue. "And these," she added, tossing a pair of black jeans at her.

After she put them on Andrea walked over to her and pulled her hair down form where she had it pulled up with a clip. She styled the curls a bit with her fingers. "Perfect," she said. "Daryl's not going to be able to resist you."

"Do you really think he likes me like that?" asked Carol while she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt.

"Yes, I promise. I wouldn't tell you that if I wasn't sure." She grabbed Carol's hand. "Come on," she said, pulling her along towards her room. Carol took a quick peak in the living room to make sure Sophia was coloring in her book and not the wall before following Andrea.

"Here." She handed her a bottle of perfume. "Put some of this on."

She sprayed some on her wrist and then smelled it. "Mmm, I like that. That smells really good." She handed the bottle back to Andrea.

She took it and sprayed some on Carol's neck and then a little on her chest where the shirt dipped down slightly. "Andrea, that's enough," She said swatting at her. "What are you doing tonight?" Carol asked after the put the perfume away.

"I'm going bowling with Rick and Michonne, and Rick is bringing some friend of his that goes to another school. Shane something or other."

"So, you're going on a blind date."

She shrugged. "Rick said he's a nice guy," she said as she followed Carol to the kitchen where she helped clean up the dishes from breakfast.

Dale walked into the kitchen a little while later with Sophia trailing behind him.

"Hey, girls. I just wanted to let you know I'm about to head out. I'm only going to be gone for the weekend. But leaving some money just in case. Make sure you keep the door locked. You've got my number and here's the number of the hotel."

"We'll be fine, Dad." said Andrea. "You don't have to worry."

"It's not like we're going to burn the house down or anything," said Carol.

Dale chuckled. "I know. I just worry about leaving you alone." He bent down to pick up Sophia, who tugging on his leg. "Sophia, I want you to make sure these two behave themselves. Okay?"

"Okay."

Amy came running down the hall, carrying her backpack and sleeping bag. "Come on, I'm going to be late. They're going to start without me," said Carol's twelve-year-old cousin.

" _Amy_?" cried Sophia reaching for her cousin.

Amy took her from Dale's arms and gave her hug. "Hey, little bit. I'm going on a sleepover but I'll see you later, okay."

Sophia nodded her head and wiggled from Amy's grasp before going back to the living room.

"Alright, we'd better get going," said Dale. He gave each of his girls a hug before leading Amy out the door and towards the car.

Andrea left a few minutes after that when Michonne and Rick came to pick her up. After waving to them she walked back into the house to check on Sophia.

Sophia was sitting in front of the coffee table coloring a picture of duck with every color in her crayon box. She had her tongue sticking out one side of her mouth and appeared to be deep in thought. "Done," she declared, putting down her crayon.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart. Let's tear it out so we can give it to Daryl when he gets here, okay?"

She walked with Sophia to the kitchen so she could find the scissors. While she was in there she heard a truck pull up out front. Daryl must have finally gotten here. She handed Sophia the picture so she could give it to Daryl herself.

They walked out the front door as Daryl was getting out his truck carrying a plastic bag.

"Hey, you made it," she said in greeting.

"I would have been here sooner but I stopped by the diner. Got us some dinner," he said, handing her the bag.

"Great. I really didn't feel like cooking. I was just going to order a pizza."

"It was nothing," he said shyly.

Carol looked down at Sophia who was holding the picture behind her back. "Go ahead, baby. Give it to him," she said, prompting her.

Daryl squatted down. "You have something for me?" he asked

She nodded. "Made you this," she said, handing him the picture of the rainbow-colored duck.

He studied it for moment, admiring it for the great piece of art work it was. "Thank you, sweetheart. I love it." He picked her up and kissed the top of her head. "I have to fix your mommy's car. Will you take it inside for me so it doesn't get dirty?" he asked, setting her on her feet.

She nodded, took the picture, and ran back into the house.

"It shouldn't take long to put this cable on, then I'll be in."

She nodded and walked into the house.

After they had finished dinner Carol gave Sophia a bath because she had managed to get more of the food on herself than what went into her mouth.

"I'm just going to get her to bed. It shouldn't take too long. She's pretty worn out."

"That's fine. Take your time. I ain't going nowhere."

"Do you mind if we just watch a movie or something? I don't really feel like studying," she said, leaning against the door.

"Yeah, me neither. Didn't really want to study anyway," he said. What he really wanted to do was kiss her. When she had walked outside wearing that top and those jeans he couldn't think of anything else. He felt his face burn. "I'll find us something watch," he said, picking up the remote.

Carol came back out about ten minutes later. "She asleep?" he asked.

"Not yet. She refuses to go to sleep until you give her a kiss goodnight," she said, walking over to the couch.

"I'll be right back," he said, handing her the remote.

While Carol was putting Sophia to bed, he decided that he was just going to go for it. If she didn't feel the same then he would just have to deal with it.

He had caught Carol several times looking in is direction but when he would turn to look at her she would turn back to the TV. He needed to do something. He knew it was a lame move but he decided to go for it anyway. He raised his arms above his head and stretching dropping one arm behind Carol's shoulders.

He glanced at her and caught a hint of a smile on her face. And then she scooted a little closer to him. Maybe his feeling weren't as one-sided as he thought.

The next time he caught her looking at him she didn't turn away. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his briefly. She pulled back as if to gauge his reaction, and seemed to be about to say something. When he cut her off by kissing her back with a little more fierceness than she had kissed him, she quickly returned it, their lips barely parting. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

Not sure what to do with his hands and not wanting to do anything inappropriate with them, he kept the one around her shoulder and the other he let rest on the couch. They pulled away after a few minutes.

"That was nice," said Carol, a little breathless.

"Yeah," he said, not sure what else to say. "Carol?" he began.

"Yes," she said, grabbing one of his hands and holding it.

"I like you, Carol."

She smiled. "I know. I like you too," she said, squeezing his hand.

"No. I mean, I like you. I want to be more than friends with you." He held his breath. Yeah, they had just made out. But that didn't mean she wanted the same thing he did.

"I want to be more than friends with you, too," she said.

He let a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Really?" he asked, pushing a stray curl behind her ear.

"Really," she said, and to prove her point she kissed him again, a little more enthusiastically than the first time. They kissed for a little longer this time. He kept his hands at her shoulders and alternately played with her hair to keep his hands from wandering.

After a few minutes they pulled apart, both a little breathless and lips red and swollen.

"I better get going," he said a little reluctantly. He really didn't want to leave. But he didn't know how long he'd be able to keep his hands to himself if he stayed. He didn't think either of them were ready for that.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, standing up. "We both gotta work tomorrow morning. And if I stay any longer, I ain't gonna want leave." He picked up his backpack and the drawing Sophia had made him.

"Yeah, okay. You're right," she said, standing and walking with him to the door.

"Do you want to do something tomorrow night?" he asked.

"Sure. I don't know if I can find anyone to watch Sophia on a Saturday night, though."

"That's okay. We can just hang out here again if you want."

"I'd like that," she said.

He leaned down and gave her quick kiss, knowing if it was any more than that he wouldn't be able to tear himself away. "Goodnight, Carol," he said, pulling away and walking to his truck.

She stood at the door until he backed out of the driveway and drove off down the street. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She smiled as she brushed her fingertips over her lips. She could still taste him.

She went to bed that night with a smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

When Daryl woke up the next morning, he had a smile on his face thinking about last night. He had been dreaming about Carol. They had been kissing like they had last night. But in the dream he had been running his hands over naked flesh, and she had writhing beneath him and begging him for something. For what, he didn't get to find out, because the blaring of his alarm clock had woke him.

 _Fuck, I need a cold shower,_ he thought.

He had told Carol how he felt. Well, not _exactly_ how he felt. He hadn't told her that he loved her. He thought it might be too soon for that. Carol wasn't just his friend now. She was his girlfriend.

 _Was_ she his girlfriend? He said he wanted to be more than friends with her, then they had kissed. A lot. But he hadn't actually asked her to be his girlfriend.

He sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed a hand across his face. Maybe he should ask her tonight, just to be sure. He thought of something just before he opened the bedroom door. He walked to his dresser and dug around until he found what he was looking for – his class ring. Would she even want to wear it? He wasn't sure if Carol would like something like that. Michonne wore Rick's on a chain around her neck, and she seemed to like it. Maybe he would give it to Carol tonight.

When he came downstairs, his hair was still dripping. He dried it as much as he could with a towel that he tossed into the laundry room. When he came into the kitchen his mom was standing in front of the fridge, where he had hung the picture Sophia had colored for him, admiring it.

"Sophia drew this?" she asked running her finger along the side of the paper.

"Yeah. Made it for me last night," he said while he poured a glass of orange juice.

"That's really nice. So, what'd you do last night?"

"Nothin' much. Watched a movie, ate dinner," he shrugged. "We got any cereal?" he asked, hoping he could distract her from asking any more questions.

"In the cabinet, where it always is." She jerked her head towards the cabinet next to the fridge. "So, you seemed pretty happy when you came home last night."

He glanced at her over his bowl. "I guess," he said, taking large bite of Lucky Charms.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain redhead, would it?" She looked at over the rim of her coffee cup.

 _How the hell did she know these things?_ he thought.

"What do you know?"

"Nothing. I swear," she said. "Andrea came into the diner last night with some friends. She mentioned you two were having a date."

"Wasn't a date," he grumbled, knowing that's exactly what it was, even though he hadn't intended for it to start out that way.

"Whatever you say," she said, smirking at him while she put her cup in the sink.

"I gotta get ready for work now," he said, dumping his bowl and glass in the sink. He was hoping to get away before she asked any more questions.

"Alright," she said, putting her hands up in defeat. "I'll stop asking questions. But I do want you to ask Carol and Sophia to come over Thursday when Merle gets home so we can all have dinner together."

He nodded. "I'll ask," he said, making a quick exit.

After he finished getting ready, he grabbed the ring off his dresser and put it in his pocket. He was about to walk out the front door when his mom called him back.

"Yeah," he asked, turning to face her.

"Here," she said, holding a gold chain.

"What's this for?" he asked, taking it from her.

"Your ring. It's way too big for Carol's hand. You should put it on there so she can wear it around her neck."

"How did you…?" he began but then shook his head. "Never mind. Thanks," he said, giving her quick kiss on the cheek before heading out the door.

Mary smiled, watching her son. She loved seeing him so happy. He really deserved it after everything he'd been through. She wasn't sure she had ever seen him this happy, which is what made the phone call she got this morning all that more distressing. She knew she should have told him about it, but he'd been in such a good mood this morning and seemed so happy, she hadn't wanted to do anything to ruin it. It would keep…she hoped.

She sighed, pushed a strand of blond hair behind her ear, and went upstairs to get ready to start the day.

"Andrea!" called Carol from her bedroom. She was trying to brush Sophia's hair into pigtails, which wasn't an easy task with all the squirming around Sophia was doing.

"Yeah?" Andrea said, sticking her head into the room, a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

"I have to take my car over to the shop this morning for a tune-up. Could you follow me over there and drop me and Sophia off?" She asked, tying off Sophia's pigtails with one pink ribbon and one green since she had insisted on wearing two different colors.

"Sure, I can do that. Just let me know when you're ready." She walked back to the bathroom to rinse her mouth out before rejoining Carol in her room.

"Here, let me," Andrea said after watching Carol unsuccessfully try to put her hair into a ponytail. She brushed her hair back and held it tightly while she looked around for a ponytail holder.

"Here," Sophia said, holding out a ponytail holder.

"Thank you, sweetheart," said Andrea, taking the holder, and pulling Carol's hair back. "What else do we need?" she asked, addressing Sophia.

Sophia bit down on her bottom lip and hoisted herself into the chair in front of the mirror. She pushed around the items on the dresser until she found what she was looking for. "This." She held out a pink ribbon that matched the one in her own hair.

"Perfect," she said, tying off Carol's hair. "So, are you going to tell me what happened last night, or am I going to have to guess?"

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell," she said, leading Sophia to the bathroom so she could help her brush her teeth.

They had kissed a lot. It had been the best kiss of her life. Granted she didn't have that much experience. Even though she had a daughter, Daryl was only the third guy she had kissed. There was Jeremy Davis in sixth grade, right before she had come to live with Uncle Dale. But they had only done it because they were playing spin the bottle at a birthday party.

Then there was Sophia's father. No, she was not going to call him that. It was a title he didn't deserve. He hadn't wanted anything to do with her since the day Carol told him she was pregnant. In fact, the day Sophia was born he had sent papers over to the hospital signing away all of his parental rights. It had made her a little sad at first, thinking that a father wanted nothing to do with his child. But she had gotten over it pretty quickly because she had realized so many other people that cared about her and loved her. Daryl loved Sophia and she knew he would do anything for her. He had done more for her daughter than Sophia's so-called fathercould ever hope to do.

"So, there was kissing," said Andrea. "How was it?" she asked as they gathered up the things they would need for the day.

"It was…It was really good," she smiled, remembering last night. She had felt an unfamiliar warmth spread over her whole body. It felt so good that she had been disappointed when he said he needed to go home. But she knew he had been right. If he had stayed any longer, they might have ended up doing something that they weren't ready for.

"From that look on your face, I'll bet it was."

"He's coming over again tonight," said Carol, taking Sophia's hand and leading her out the door.

"Really? That's great! Tell you what, since Dale will be gone to a car show until Sunday and Amy wants to spend the night with Beth again, I'll find something to do tonight so I'll be out of your way."

"You don't have to that. It's your house, too."

"I don't mind. Oh, wait, I have a better idea. I'll watch Sophia tonight. You two go somewhere," said Andrea, helping Carol get Sophia settled into the car seat.

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask, I offered. Now hurry up and accept before I change my mind," she said as she opened the door to her car.

"Alright. Thank you."

She pulled out of the driveway with Andrea right behind her.

When they pulled up to the shop Daryl was out front working on a car with Tyreese and Axel. Daryl looked up when he saw her pull in and started making his way over to her, wiping his hands on a rag as he went. His eyes swept up and down her body, taking in her appearance. She was wearing another skirt. And a red short sleeved shirt that buttoned up the front. How come he never noticed how good she looked before? The outfit wasn't revealing, not really. But he couldn't help but think about how hot she looking wearing it. Or what she might look like underneath it. _Damn it, I need to get myself under control._ He couldn't be thinking about those kinds of things while he was at work. Carol got out the car, transferring Sophia and her car seat to Andrea's car. Why didn't she do that before she left the house? She looked up to see Daryl making his way towards her. He was wearing coveralls. She had seen him wear them before, plenty of times. But there was something different about them now. She had always thought that Daryl was cute. But something about seeing him in those coveralls with his too long hair sticking to his forehead was doing funny things to her. He looked hot. She couldn't remember thinking that before. But she did now. "So, you actually remembered to bring it."

"Yes, I remembered," she said sarcastically. "You only told me ten times," she said, dropping the keys into his outstretched hand, which she held for a few seconds before letting go.

"It wasn't ten times. More like nine," he said shyly, ducking his head but looking at her through the hair hanging down in his eyes.

"If you say so," she said, smiling at him. "Oh. Andrea said she'd watch Sophia tonight for me, if we wanted to go somewhere."

"Yeah. What do you want to do?" He didn't mind hanging out her house. But he really did want to take her on a real date.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Figure it out later?" she asked.

"Fine with me."

She wanted to kiss him goodbye but she wasn't sure if he would want to do that in front of Andrea and the guys he worked with. "I better go. Andrea has to go to work after she drops me off."

"Okay. Pick you up at six?" he asked. He wanted to kiss her but she hadn't made any move to act like she wanted him to.

"Sounds good," she said as she began to turn. But he grabbed her arm and tugged her back to him pressing lips against hers and pushing his hand against the small of her back to pull her closer. She wound her arms his neck and tilted her head to the side, opening her mouth slightly. They didn't pull away until they heard the catcalls and whistles coming from Andrea, Tyreese and Axel.

Daryl turned around to glare at the guys, who quickly went back to pretending like they were working. He turned back to Carol whose cheeks had taken on a slightly pink tinge.

"See ya later," he said, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

She nodded. "Have good day."

He gave her one last quick kiss before turning and going back to work.


	6. Chapter 6

After work Andrea dropped Carol off at the shop so that she could pick up her car. She told Carol she had something to take care of but that she would be back at the house before Carol and Daryl were ready leave on their date.

She had been slightly disappointed that Daryl had already left before she got there, she had wanted to see him. She knew she was going to be seeing him in a couple of hours anyway, but still. She wasn't sure when she started having feelings for her best friend. But if she were being honest with herself she had always had a bit of a crush on him.

When Uncle Dale had first brought her to live here after her parents died, she hadn't wanted to be here. She wanted her parents back and she wanted to go back to her house. She had run away into the woods and had gotten herself turned around pretty quickly. It was starting to get dark and she was scared. But then, a boy had come walking through the trees and he led her out of the woods and walked her home. After that she made it her business to become his friend. He tried to push her away and yelled at her to quit following him around, saying he didn't need any friends. But eventually he gave up when he saw she wasn't going anywhere. And they had been friends ever since.

Her stomach felt like it had butterflies in it. She had a date with Daryl tonight. Sure, they had been out together plenty of times before, but that was as friends. This was a date, a _real_ date. Why did she feel so nervous?

Maybe it was because now it meant something more. They were starting something. What it was, she wasn't exactly sure. He said he wanted to be more than friends with her, and she wanted the same thing. Did that mean he was her boyfriend now? That was what was making her nervous. If this didn't work out she was afraid they wouldn't be able to go back to being friends.

She shook her head. She was going to make herself crazy if she didn't stop thinking so much. She was going to go out tonight and she was going to have fun. She would figure out the rest later.

Daryl had left work a little early because there was something he wanted to pick up in town before he went over to Carol's. He was walking back to his truck when he bumped into Rick, who was coming out of the convenience store.

Rick eyed what he had in his hand and gave him shit-eating grin. "Those for Carol?" he eyed the yellow and white flowers he had in his hand. "For your date tonight?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. "You and Michonne been gossiping again?"

"I wasn't gossiping . I can't help it if she tells me stuff. So where are you taking her?"

"I don't know, man. Figured we'd get something to eat. Maybe take her down to the lake behind Hershel Greene's," he shrugged.

"That sounds good. She'll like that. Hershel and your mom are friends, right?"

"Yeah he's her sponsor in AA, too . He said I could go down there whenever I wanted."

"That's cool. Hey, think he'd let me take Michonne up there sometime?"

"I don't know. Why don't you just ask him? I gotta get going." He turned towards his truck.

"Wait," said Rick, reaching into his pocket. "You might need this," he said, pulling out his wallet and handing him a condom.

He felt his face get red. Goddamn Rick. "I don't need that." He wasn't planning on having sex with Carol tonight. He wanted to eventually, but that was something he knew she wasn't ready for. The only time she had sex was with that asshole that got her pregnant.

 _Hell, I've never even…_

Nope, he was not going there. They were just now going their first date, they weren't ready for that. And he wasn't going to push her into something she wasn't ready for.

"Take it anyway. Just in case," he said, holding it out.

"Fine." Daryl snatched it out his hand and stuffed in his pants pocket before putting the truck in gear and driving towards his house.

"Are you sure this looks alright?" asked Carol as she stood in front of the mirror, looking at the outfit she had picked out for tonight. It was a light blue dress that came to just above her knees and had little white flowers all over it.

"You look great," said Andrea, lying across her bed and flipping through a magazine.

"Maybe I should-" she said before Andrea interrupted her.

"No," said Andrea, sitting up. "You've already changed twice. You look fantastic. You don't need to change again." She up got and went to stand next to Carol, looking in the mirror. "Daryl's going to love it." She turned to Sophia who sitting on the floor pushing a barbie doll around in the back of a plastic dump truck. "Sophia, tell your mama she looks pretty."

Sophia looked up from her place on the floor. "Mama pretty," she said, walking over and wrapping are arms around Carol's legs.

Carol reached down and scooped her up. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said, kissing the top of her head.

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, _her_ you listen to." She walked across the room to answer the phone that had started ringing. "Hey, dad." She walked into the hall. "Yeah….we're all fine. Actually, Carol has a date tonight….yeah….I know, it's about time, right?" She darted out of the way when Carol tried to swat at her. "Here," Andrea said, thrusting the phone at Carol. "Talk to him."

"Hey, Uncle Dale." She eased Sophia down to the floor and the little girl started squirming when she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it," yelled Andrea. "Hey, Daryl," she greeted him.

Carol walked into the living room, still on the phone with Dale. Daryl was talking to Andrea. He then bent to Sophia, who was tugging on his pants leg. He handed her a small pink stuffed bear, which Sophia promptly squeezed to her chest. She wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck and hugged him tightly. He picked her up with one arm and held tightly while he whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. He kissed the top of her head before setting her back on the floor.

She felt her heart clench at the sight. She could see how much Daryl loved her daughter. She knew Sophia loved him. Whenever he wasn't with them he was all Sophia could talk about. Wanting to know when they were going to see him again. She knew in that moment that she was completely head over heels in love with Daryl Dixon.

"Uncle Dale, I have to go now," she said. "Yeah…I'll talk to you later…me too…bye." She hung up the phone and laid it on the table as Daryl was making his way over to her. She hadn't gotten a good look at him when she walked in the room earlier but she was looking now and she could honestly say she had never seen him look this good.

He was wearing a pair of black jeans, with a dark blue button-up shirt that was tucked into his waistband with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She almost wanted to drool at the sight. She could feel arousal pooling low in her belly, something she wasn't sure she had felt before, at least not this intensely.

Daryl gave her a curious look and cocked his to the side as if could read her thoughts. He smiled. "Gotcha these," he said, holding out a bouquet of white flowers with a yellow center.

Carol took them from and brought them to her nose. "They're beautiful. Thank you, Daryl," She said, and placed a peck on his cheek.

"I'll put these in water," said Andrea, taking the flowers from Carol and walking to the kitchen.

Carol bent down to talk to Sophia. "Okay, sweetheart. Daryl and I have to go now, but I'll be home later."

"I can go with you," Sophia said hopefully, clutching her bear to her chest and sticking out her bottom lip in gesture that usually made Carol give in to her.

Daryl squatted down next her. "I'll make a deal with you," he said. "You let me and your mama go tonight and be a good girl and really soon all three of us will go somewhere special. How's that sound?"

Sophia looked back and forth between Daryl and her mom. She bit her bottom lip and then nodded her head. "Good girl," he said.

"Sophia, I want you to be good for Aunt Andrea and do what she says, okay? Can you do that?" asked Carol.

She nodded. "I can."

She gave the girl a hug and kiss. Daryl bent down to do the same, knowing they wouldn't get out the door unless he did.

"Come on, Sophia," said Andrea, taking her hand. "Let's go watch a movie," she said, leading her to the couch. She turned around to face Carol and Daryl. "You two have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Carol could tell Daryl was getting ready to say something sarcastic so she tugged on his hand pulled him out the door before he got a chance.

As they walked out to his truck he tugged her toward him and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You look real pretty in that dress," he said when he pulled back.

She smiled. "You too," she said. "I mean, you look nice," she said, giggling a little.

He smirked at her. "Come on," he said opening the door for her before walking around to get in the driver side.


	7. Chapter 7

_Twelve year old Carol Horvath collapsed against a tree, exhausted. It was really dumb to run off into the woods like that. She had just gotten to her Uncle Dale's house. He had gone to pick her up in Valdosta after her parents had been killed in a car accident. Dale was her father's older brother and the only family she had left. As soon as they pulled into the driveway at Dale's house she had jumped from the car and ran._

 _She couldn't take it. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go back to her house. She didn't want to go to a new school with people she didn't know._ _Most of all, she wanted her parents to be alive again. And now she was lost in the woods. She had been wandering around for an hour and had yet to find her way out._

'I'm probably going to die out here, _she thought._ I'll probably get eaten by a bear or something.'

 _She had been sobbing into her hands for about ten minutes when she felt something nudge her foot. She jumped and scrambled back. She knew it – she was about to get eaten. She looked up to see, not a bear or some other monster her mind had conjured up, but a boy about her age. He had a cast on his right arm and his too-long hair was hanging down in his eyes. She also noticed some bruising under his right eye._

'I wonder what happened to him?'

" _You alright?" he asked, shifting nervously from one foot to another while biting his thumb nail._

 _She nodded. "Yeah," she said, climbing to her feet._

" _You hurt? Why you crying?"_

" _I'm lost," she said, sniffling and sucking back snot, wishing she had something to blow her nose with. Seeming to read her mind, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a red bandana, and handed it to her._

" _That why you crying?" he asked as she blew her nose._

" _Part of it," she said, wiping her eyes before offering him the bandan_ _n_ _a back._

 _He made a face. "Keep it," he said. "Come on," he called, turning away from her._

" _Wait. Where are we going?"she asked._

" _You said you were lost. I'll show you the way out," he said. When she didn't move he yelled. "Come on! I ain't got all day."_

 _She ran to catch up. They had been walking for a few minutes Carol finally spoke. "I'm Carol Horvath," she said, sticking out her hand. When he didn't offer anything in return, she spoke again. "This is the part where you tell me your name," she said with a grin._

" _Daryl Dixon," he said, falling silent again. "You related to Dale?" he asked after a minute._

 _She nodded. "He's my Uncle. I just moved here to live with him."_

" _What happened to your parents?" he asked._

" _They died," she sniffled._

" _I'm sorry," he said, lowering his eyes._

" _It's okay, you didn't know. What happened to your arm?" she asked pointing to the cast she had noticed earlier._

" _I fell," he said, dropping his eyes._

" _Oh. I broke my arm once. I fell out of a tree house. Is that what happened to you?"_

" _Sure, lets go with that," he seemed to lower his eyes even more._

" _What grade are you in?" she asked._

" _Seventh."_

" _Me too. Maybe we'll have some classes together."_

" _Maybe."_

 _They walked in silence for a few minutes before either of them spoke again. "What was that?" said Carol in an alarmed voice. "Was that a bear?" She grabbed his arm._

" _A bear?" he looked at her like she had lost her mind._

 _Carol nodded her head and clutched his arm tighter, her eyes darting around the woods._

 _Daryl shook her arm off. "Ain't a bear."_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _Yeah. It's the wrong time of year for them to be out. They usually hibernating around this time. Probably just some squirrels running around in the trees."_

 _Carol was relieved. It was just some cute little squirrels. She liked squirrels._

" _Could have been a chupacabra," he said as they continued walking._

 _She had to run to catch up with him. "A what?"_

" _Chupacabra."_

" _What is_ that _?"_

" _It means 'goat-sucker'. They attack goats and other livestock and drink their blood."_

 _Carol stopped walking. That was horrifying. He couldn't be serious. "Is that real?"_

 _He stopped and turned to look at her. "Sure, it's real. Saw one once while I was squirrel hunting."_

" _You hunt poor defenseless little squirrels?" She asked, running after him again._

" _They're rodents," he said as he rolled his eyes at her._

" _They're adorable and sweet. I had a pet squirrel at my parents' house." She said with a sad smile._

" _Oh, yeah?"_

" _Well, sort of. He would come on the back porch everyday while I was doing my homework and I would feed him peanuts. His name was Charlie. My dad bought a bag of squirrel food for me to feed him and the other squirrels. But Charlie was the only one that came up on the porch. He would stay there until I went inside."_

" _That's pretty cool. They usually don't like to get to close to people. You must be special." He immediately ducked his head and walked a few steps ahead of her._

 _Carol looked at him when he said that. She wasn't sure but it looked like his whole face turned red – like he was embarrassed or something. She smiled, she would have to file that away for future reference._

 _A few minutes later they had made it to the road. "Think you can find your way from here?" he asked._

 _She shook her head and bit her lip. "No. I wasn't really paying attention to the way I ran."_

 _He sighed. "Come on," he said and started walking up the street._

 _They spent the rest of the walk in near silence – Carol asking questions and Daryl giving one- or two-word responses._

" _Well, here you are," he said, coming to a stop in front of Dale's house just as he came out the door, talking to a police officer. A look of relief crossed his face when he saw her. "You better go," he said, nodding his head at Dale and the officer._

" _Yeah," she said, turning to walk to the house. She stopped and turned back. "Thanks," she said, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. She pulled back and smiled at him. "See you at school on Monday," she said, running towards the house. She had just made her first friend._

"What are thinking about?" asked Daryl as the waitress brought them their check. "You've been quite for a few minutes."

"I was just thinking about the day we met," she said.

He smiled. "Oh, yeah. You were the most annoying girl I'd ever met," he said with a smirk, pulling out his wallet and laying down money for their dinner, plus a tip.

"I was not annoying. I just liked to talk."

"Same thing," he said, standing up and taking her hand, pulling her from the booth.

They walked out to the truck and he opened the door for her. He leaned forward and caught her mouth with his. They kissed for a few minutes before they pulled away breathless. He started the truck and pulled out the parking lot.

"Where we going?" she asked.

"I thought we could go over to the lake at Hershel's. It's nice out there this time of year."

"That sounds fun. Are you sure it's alright with him?" she asked, reaching across the seat and grabbing his hand, interlacing their fingers.

"Yeah. I already asked him," he said, squeezing her hand. She scooted a little in the seat until she could lay her head on his shoulder. He took an arm off the wheel and wrapped it around her shoulder.

They pulled onto the road leading to Hershel's farm, and then down the dirt road leading to the lake behind Hershel's house. As soon as he put the truck in park, she jumped out, tugging on his hand and pulling him towards the dock. "Come on."

"Calm down. There aint no hurry." But he had to smile at her energy. He patted his pocket to make sure the ring was still there. He was a little nervous about giving it to her. He didn't really think she woudn't take it. But that didn't stop the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

When they made it to the dock, she immediately sat down and starting pulling her shoes off.

"What are doing?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"I wanna put my feet in the water," she said, scooting forward so she could drop her feet in. "You should take yours off, too. It feels great," she said, kicking her feet and splashing a little water on him.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that," he said, pulling off his shoes, rolling up his pants legs and kicking some water back at her. She retaliated by kicking at the water harder to splash him even more. This went on for a few minutes before Carol held up her hands.

"Okay, okay! I give up, you win. I'm starting to get cold now," she said, pulling her feet from the water. He pulled his out as well, wrapped an arm around her and tugged her against him. He rubbed her arms with his hands to create some warmth.

"Better?" he asked as she snuggled into his chest.

"Much," she said, placing a kiss on his neck. The only place she could reach from the angle she was at.

He shivered, but not from the cold. He pulled back slightly so he could press his lips to hers. He dropped his hands to her waist so he could tug her closer. She wound her arms around his neck and opened her mouth slightly to allow him access, when she felt his tongue scrape against her teeth, asking permission.

He rubbed small circles against the side of her waist. When he felt his hands starting to inch upwards he had to force himself to pull back. He wasn't doing that yet. He hadn't even given her the ring yet. He pulled himself away, but not before placing a kiss to the side of neck, just below her ear, causing her to visibly shudder.

He smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before speaking. "I got something I want to give you," he said, reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out the ring that he had attached to the chain before he left the house.

"Your class ring?" she asked.

He nodded. "Do you want to wear it?" he asked, the confidence from earlier suddenly leaving. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought you might like it."

"I'll wear it," she said with a smile.

"You will?" A smile blossomed across his face.

She nodded. "Put it on me?" she asked, turning around and lifting her hair. He fumbled with the clasp for a minute before getting it attached.

She picked up the ring rolled it around between her fingers before letting it drop. "Does this mean we're going steady now?" she asked, using a term she was sure hadn't been used since the 1950s.

"I guess it does," he said, kissing her again. She pulled back slightly and pulled her class ring from the ring finger on her right hand.

"If we're going steady," She began, pulling his hand towards her. "That means you're mine."

"But it's pink," he prostested when she put the ring onto his pinky finger.

"Well if you don't want to wear it…" she said, reaching for it.

"I didn't say that. Just don't know why it's gotta be pink," He grumbled. He really didn't mind, he was just enjoying giving her a hard time.

"Because I was born in October," she said, letting go of his hand but leaning into him laying her head on his shoulder. "It's not like I could help it."

"I know, I'm just teasing you," he said, kissing the top of her head and wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her as close to him as she could get. "Are you happy?" he asked.

"Very," she said, grabbing his free hand in hers and holding it in her lap.

"Me, too."

They sat on the dock and watched as the moon rose higher in the sky and danced across the water.


	8. Chapter 8

Carol was heading towards the lunchroom when she felt two arms wrap around her waist and haul her backwards. She was about to turn around and give someone a piece of her mind when she saw Daryl grinning at her.

Scare ya?" he asked, planting a quick kiss to her lips.

"Nope," she said, pulling him off to the side so that they weren't blocking the door. "Are you going to eat?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I just came to find you. I'm heading out early. Me and Mom are going to pick up Merle at the airport."

"Oh yeah, I forgot he's coming home today. What time does his flight get here?"

"Supposed to get here about two o'clock. I'm going to pick up mom and we're going to try and get there a little early."

"What time should I come over tonight?"

"You off work today?" he asked. She nodded. "Come over about six. Want me to pick you up?"

"You don't have to. I don't want to be any trouble," she said casually.

"You ain't trouble. And besides, I want to," he said, wrapping arm around her neck and pulling her close.

"Well, okay. If it means that much to you, I guess I'll let you pick me up."

"Why does it sound like you're doing me a favor?" he asked.

She leaned up and kissed him quickly. "Because I know how much you love driving me around."

"Yeah, right," he said, releasing her. "I'd better get going now."

"Okay. See you later," she said as he walked away.

She walked into the lunchroom and got through the line quickly. She looked at her tray. They were having burgers, or something that resembled a burger. She wasn't even sure it was real meat.

She found a seat with Michonne and Rick. She took a bite of her burger – it wasn't too bad after she put cheese and some ketchup on it.

"So," said Rick. "Where'd Daryl go?"

"Merle's coming home today, he and his mom went to pick him up."

Michonne reached across the table and lifted the ring around Carol's neck. "So, he gave you his ring?"

"Yeah, Saturday night. We were sitting down at the dock at Hershel Greene's."

"That is so romantic." She turned to glare at Rick. "Rick just handed me his one day, and was like, _'You want this?'_ "

"Hey," said Rick. "You're the one said you hated all that romantic stuff. I'm gonna get him for making me look bad."

Daryl was romantic, and he didn't even have to try. The flowers he had brought her and taking her down to docks was romantic. Many people wouldn't think it was. But to Carol, it had been perfect. They had only been officially dating for two days but it felt like longer. Most guys weren't looking to date a teenage mother. But Daryl didn't seem to care. He loved Sophia.

Sometimes she thought he wouldn't be able to love her any more than if she were his own child. She was then struck with another thought – Daryl had been there since Sophia was born. He did everything for her that a father would do. He read to her. Tucked her in to bed on nights when he was at the house. He bought her presents and told her loved her.

She knew Sophia loved him, too. When she would see him, she would wiggle out of Carol's arms and run to Daryl. He would immediately scoop her up, tickle her stomach and give her kiss before sitting her feet. Sometimes she thought Daryl seemed older than eighteen. She didn't think any of the other guys she went to school with would spend so much time with a child that wasn't even his. She wondered if Daryl would want Sophia to be his. If he would want to be a daddy to her.

It was too soon to be thinking things like that. They had just started dating, there would be time to think of things like that later. Right now she was happy.

She patted Rick on the shoulder. "Rick, you have a lot to learn about women," she said, standing to go dump her lunch tray with the half-eaten burger in the trash. She would eat something later. She was having dinner at Daryl's later, anyway.

Mary looked at her watch for the third time in the last half hour. "It's two thirty. The flight's a half hour late. Do you think something's wrong?" She looked at Daryl, where he sat slumped in chair.

"No, flights are late all the time. It'll be here soon." He offered, getting up to stand next to her. "Besides, if something were wrong we would know about it already."

She put her arm around him and squeezed his shoulder. "You're right," She said. "You need a haircut," she added, pushing his hair away from his eyes. "Can't even see your eyes."

"No, I don't," he said, brushing his hair back down. He rubbed at his left eye.

"Is your eye bothering you?" she asked.

"It's fine," he said, sitting back down. But he rubbed at his eye again.

Mary sighed. She knew how self-conscious he was about his eye. That was why he liked to keep his hair long. His eye socket had been fractured the day his father and been arrested. Caleb Dixon had come home drunk, and had found out that she was planning on leaving him and taking Daryl with her. Daryl, who was twelve at the time, came out of his room when heard the yelling. He came into the living room to see his father hitting her.

Daryl had come to her defense, and immediately jumped on his father's back and attempted to pull him off her. Caleb had easily thrown him off, his rage now turned on his son. Mary had managed to get to her feet and hit Caleb over the back of the head with a beer bottle, knocking him out, but not before he had managed to break Daryl's arm and fracture his eye socket. The doctor had to put in titanium eye socket and four screws in nose to repair the damage. Caleb Dixon had gone to jail that night. He was charged with spousal and child abuse. He had originally only been sentenced to four years, but it was discovered that he had a warrant in another state for possession. That had earned him another two years, resulting a total of six years.

He'd gotten paroled early and was now getting out, though she hadn't told Daryl yet. She hadn't even told him about the parole hearing last month. She wanted to spare him from having to see Caleb when it really wasn't necessary. She really didn't believe he would get out. Daryl was going to be really upset when she told him that she had been avoiding it. She knew she needed to tell him. She bit her thumb nail, a habit Daryl had gotten from her.

"You alright?" he asked when he noticed her biting her thumb.

"I'm fine. I just need to-" she began, but was cut by off by a voice over the intercom.

"Flight 231 is now arriving at Gate 12."

"That's him," said Daryl, getting up and walking towards the gate with his mom following close behind.

She had to tell him. Maybe she would wait until tonight when she could talk to Merle about it. He and Daryl had always been really close despite the six year difference in their ages. She would talk to Merle and maybe he could help her figure out the best way to tell him.

As they stood at the gate waiting for Merle to emerge neither of noticed the man standing in the corner watching their every move.

"Little brother," Merle yelled when he stepped through the gate. He tossed his bag on the ground. "How about a hug for your big brother?" He threw his arm around Daryl's shoulder in a half hug, half choke hold.

"Damn it, Merle. Let me go," he said, trying to pull out from under Merle's arm.

Merle chose to ignore him and tighten the hold he had. "Hey, Ma," he said, wrapping his free arm around her to hold her and kiss her cheek.

"Hi, sweetheart. I missed you. What took the plane so long?"

He finally relinquished the hold he had on Daryl. "Nothing major," he shrugged. "Some dumbass got caught joining the mile high club."

Daryl stared at him shaking his head and his mom raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"It wasn't me this time, I swear. Not after what happened last time." He shook his head. "So, brother, I hear you finally grew a pair and asked out Little sister," he said, calling Carol by the nickname he had given her when she first starting coming around. He said that with she and Daryl around it was like he had a brother and a sister.

"Huh? How did you-" he glanced in his mom's direction.

"Don't look at me, I didn't say a word. I don't know how he knows."

"Well," prompted Daryl.

"Let's just say a little bird told me." He picked up his bag from the floor. "Let get the hell out of here, I'm starved," he said as he headed for the exit.

"Merle!" called Mary from the kitchen, where she was putting together a meatloaf for dinner.

He stuck his head in the kitchen door. "Yeah?"

"When your brother gets back with Carol and Sophia, I'm going to send them to store for a few things."

"Well, hell, you ain't gotta wait for them, I'll go now. What you need?"

"No, I need them out of the house for a bit. I need to talk to you about something."

Mary chewed on one of fingernails. As many times as she got on Daryl for doing that, she couldn't seem to break the habit herself. It was something she only did when she was nervous.

Merle noticed her chewing on her nail – something he knew she only did when she was nervous – and ran a hand over his face. "What is it?"

"Caleb's out of jail."

There was no use in sugar coating it.

Merle slammed his fist into the countertop. "Damn it." He hadn't been there the night his father had nearly killed Daryl and his mother. He had gotten back to the house as the ambulance carrying her and Daryl pulled out of the driveway. He had been out drinking with some buddies. If he had been home he could have prevented all of it. Not long after that he had started cleaning up his life and his mother had started going to AA meetings.

"He's going to take this really told him yet?"

"No. He's been in such a good mood the past few days, I didn't want to do anything to ruin it."

They heard a car door slam and voices making their way towards the front door. "I'll send them to the store and we can talk some more while they're gone."

Merle nodded and walked into the living room. "Hey, little sister!" he boomed, and before she could say anything he had picked her up and was swinging her around.

"Merle, put her down," snapped Daryl.

"Long time, no see," he said, sitting her on her feet. "So, I hear you and my brother finally pulled you heads out your asses and decided you belong together."

"Merle," she hissed, her eyes darting down to Sophia who standing behind her legs, clutching the pink bear Daryl had gotten her to her chest.

He looked down. "Oh, yeah, sorry kid," he said, looking at Sophia. "Last time I seen you, you weren't much bigger than that bear you're holding."

Sophia stepped further behind her mother's legs.

"Sophia," said Carol, squatting down. "You remember I told you about Daryl's brother, Merle."

Sophia nodded her head and looked over Carol's shoulder to the big man standing behind her mother.

"Well, that's him." She pointed behind her.

Sophia's eyes got wide and she looked to Daryl for confirmation.

"Your brother?" she asked.

"Yeah, sweetheart, that's my brother. Go tell him _hi_."

Sophia stepped around Carol til she was standing in front of Merle. She stared at him for a moment before reaching her arms towards him.

He reached down and picked her up. "She house broken?" asked Merle.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "She's not a dog, dumbass."

Carol almost said something about using those words in front of Sophia. But between him and Merle she decided that it was a losing battle.

"It's called _potty trained_. And yes, she is. Well, most of the time, anyway," she added at the end just because she wanted to see Merle squirm.

Merle looked a little worried but didn't make any move to put her down.

Mary came into the room. "Hi, Sophia."

"Hey," she said from where she had laid her head on Merle's shoulder and rubbing her eyes.

"She missed her nap earlier. Would it be okay if put her down for a nap before dinner?"

"Of course," said Mary, taking Sophia from Merle. "I can do it for you. I need you two to run to the store for me," she said, taking a list and some money from her pocket. "I forgot a few things I need."

"Okay, sure," said Daryl, taking the money and the paper. He wondered why she didn't just send Merle earlier. Unless, he thought, she wanted to get rid of him for some reason. For the last week or so he felt like she was keeping something from him. "Come on," he said, taking Carol's hand. "Let's go the sooner we leave the sooner we can get back."

"Take your time, little brother," said Merle, making a suggestive gesture with his hands.

"Knock it off." Daryl gave him the finger.

Carol was very glad that Sophia had already fallen asleep against Mary's shoulder and didn't see any of that. She didn't really feel like explaining to the people at the daycare where she learned that from.

She sighed and followed Daryl out the door.


	9. Chapter 9

"Your mom sure forgot a lot of stuff." Carol looked down at the paper that Daryl's mom had given them as they pulled into the parking lot at the grocery store.

"I don't know why she didn't just have Merle go." Daryl put the truck in park and got out and they headed for the entrance. "I think they were trying to get rid of us."

"Why do you that?" She stopped in front of the shopping baskets and picked up two.

"I don't know, it just seems like she's keeping something from me. I ain't got no reason to think that. She's just been acting weird for the past couple of weeks," he shrugged. "Why do you got two baskets?"

"Because." She tore the list in half, and handed a piece and half the money to him. "If we each get half we can get out of here faster. And if we hurry we might even have time to make out a little before we head back home."

His eyes got big. "Well, what are you waiting on, girl? Get moving." He took one of the baskets from her.

She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Daryl," she said and grabbed his arm. "I'm sure she's not keeping anything from you. And if they are I'm sure she'll tell you about it soon. I don't think they would deliberately keep anything from you that would hurt you."

He nodded. "You're right. Now get a move on. You're cutting into my make out time," he said, giving her playful shove.

Carol laughed as she walked in the opposite direction of him.

"Cucumbers…carrots…Tomatoes."

 _Where were the tomatoes?_ Carol walked to the corner of the produce department when she spotted them.

She was gathering several into a bag when she dropped one and it rolled across the floor. She chased after it. It came to a stop in of a dirty boot-clad foot. A man with at least a week old beard squatted down and picked it up before holding it out to her.

Carol reached out and took it.

"I think you dropped this." The man rose to his feet. He was at least a foot and a half taller than her, if not more. He had dark brown hair with streaks of grey in it and a beard to match. He looked to be in his late forties.

"Um, thanks." She dropped the tomato into her basket.

The man peered into her basket. "Making a salad?" he asked.

Carol nodded. "Yeah. Well my boyfriend's mom is."

"Well, that's very nice of you to go to the store for her. She must be a nice woman." He picked up an apple from a nearby bin and took a huge bite, dripping juice down his chin.

 _Is he going to pay for that?_ Carol wondered.

"Yeah, she is," Carol responded. This man looked familiar. She swore she had seen him somewhere before, she just couldn't remember where. He was giving her the creeps. And now he was staring at her chest. She needed to get out of here.

"I'd be careful if I were you." He stepped a little closer to her causing her to take a step back.

"Excuse me," Carol said, making a move to go around him.

"Some people can fool you. They make you think they're loyal when they're really just lying whores. So you'd better watch yourself," he said, leering at her in way that made her want to go home and take a shower.

Carol shuddered and hurried off in the direction of the checkout counter.

The man took another bite of the apple and then tossed it back in the bin.

Carol was heading to the checkout counter when she bumped into someone and almost fell backwards. She yelped and jerked away when two arms reached out to steady her.

"Whoa." Daryl looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought you were that guy." She shuddered again, thinking about it.

"What guy?" he looked around. "Somebody bothering you?" he was not the mood to knock somebody's teeth down their throat but he would if he had to.

"It was nothing," she assured him, placing a hand on his arm. "Some guy was talking to me in the produce section and he gave me the creeps."

Daryl narrowed his eyes and started in that direction. Carol caught his arm. "Don't. He's probably gone already anyway. He was just some weirdo." She tugged on his arm. "Come on, or we're not going to have time to make out before we go back to your house."

"Fine. But if you see him, you let me know." He said, taking her hand and leading her to the checkout counter.

After putting the groceries in the back of the truck, Daryl pulled Carol across the bench seat and she was now sitting across his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. He had one arm around her waist keeping her from falling into the steering wheel. The other was laying against her jean-clad thigh, squeezing every so often.

His lips pressed against hers as she made little noises of contentment in the back of her throat. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, seeking entrance to his mouth. He opened his mouth, slightly accepting, before slipping his own into her mouth. He groaned when he felt her suck on his tongue.

He pulled away slightly, kissed the corner of her mouth before trailing kisses down the side of her neck to suck on the skin just below her ear.

"Daryl," she whined and started squirming in his lap when he bit lightly on skin. She was going to have a hickey. But right now she couldn't care less. In fact, she kind of liked the idea.

She felt his hand moving from her thigh to her shirt, and he stopped just before he reached her breast. He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes, asking permission. She gave a slight nod before dropping her head to his shoulder and breathing in his scent. She felt him slide his hand up until he was cupping her breast on the outside of her shirt. He gave a small squeeze and she shuddered.

He pulled back. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry." It occurred to him she may not really want his hand their or maybe he squeezed too hard. They were also sitting in the middle of the parking lot where anyone could see. He made a move to pull his hand back but she grabbed it and placed it back where it was.

"Don't stop." Her cheeks were tinged pink and she looked a little breathless. "You didn't hurt me. I liked it." If it was possible, her face seemed to get redder.

He smiled and gave her a small squeeze while he pulled her closer to him and kissed her again, this time with a little more enthusiasm. She trailed her fingers up to touch the exposed skin of chest where he left the top few buttons of his shirt undone.

He groaned when her fingers touched his bare skin . She rubbed circles against the skin, her nailed scraping gently.

He moved his hand to her other breast to give it the same attention. He moved back to kiss that spot he had been kissing on her neck. She started squirming on his lap when she felt his lips behind her ear. He felt the front of his pants tightening from the combination of her moving around in his lap combined with the feel of her breast and the sweet taste of the skin or her neck.

He pulled away from her. "Carol." But she didn't seem to be listening. She had dropped her head and was kissing the hollow of his throat. He let out moan before he could stop himself. "Fuck." He pulled back from here. "Carol, we gotta stop," he said, although he really didn't want to.

"Why?" she said, moving back to kiss him some more.

He shifted slightly in his seat so she could feel the reason that they needed to stop.

"Oh," she flushed a bright red and slipped off his lap until she was sitting next to him. "Sorry." She scooted back to passenger side of the truck.

He tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "Don't be sorry. Felt good." He kissed her quickly. "This just ain't the best place to be doing that." He felt embarrassed for having said that but he couldn't have her thinking she did anything wrong. He shifted in his seat trying to adjust himself without actually touching himself. He was not doing that in front of her.

She grinned. "So it felt good, huh?" She watched him shift in the seat again. "How good?" she asked, leaning forward to breathe into his ear. And then just because she felt like it, and knowing the effect she had on him making her a little brave, she bit his earlobe.

"Stop." If she kept up looking at him like that there was no way he was making it home with his dignity intact.

She grinned wider but slid back into her seat. Her phone beeped and she pulled it out her purse. "It's a text from Merle."

"What's he want?" He put the keys in and started the truck.

"He says he's starving to death, and wants to know where we are." Before she could respond, another text came through. "Now he's wondering if we ran off and got a hotel room." She smiled mischievously. "Should I tell him we're late because you were busy giving me a hickey and feeling me up?"

"No," he yelled as he made a grab for the phone when she started typing. If she did that he would never hear the end of it.

"And, _send_." She gave him a shit-eating grin when he pulled the phone out of her hand. He looked at what she had written.

 _On our way. Be there in a few._

"You think your real funny, don't you?" He handed the phone back to her. He wasn't mad, he should know she wouldn't actually tell Merle that. She was funny. She was beautiful, too, and she didn't even have to try. Especially when she was laughing, her nose would scrunch and her eyes would twinkle.

"I think I'm hilarious," she giggled and put the phone back into her purse.

"Yeah, you are." He reached across the seat and took her hand. "You're sexy too."

When Daryl and Carol arrived back at the house they found Merle sprawled out on the couch watching _Real Housewives of Atlanta,_ of all things. Sophia was on the other end curled into a ball, clutching her bear and sound asleep.

"'Bout time ya'll got back. I'm about to starve." He sat up and muted the TV. "What took so long?"

"Wasn't gone that long." Daryl took the bags from Carol and brought them to the kitchen.

Merle stood up carefully so as not to disturb Sophia. "Figured y'all ran off and got a motel room. But I don't guess you were gone long enough for that."

Daryl came back in the room and slapped Merle in the back of the head. "Watch it."

Merle rubbed the back of his head. "Didn't mean nothing by it. Meant it as compliment." He dropped his arm around Daryl's shoulder and addressed Carol "When the time comes for you two the seal the deal, it ain't going to last too long, especially for a guy. Just the way it is." He turned to Daryl. "This is why you gotta make sure she's taken care of first."

"Oh my god." Carol covered her face with her hands and turned around to make sure Sophia was still asleep. The last thing she needed was for her to go to daycare repeating the things that Merle said.

"Now, listen." Merle stepped a little closer to her and pulled Daryl along with him. "I know Daryl here's a virgin. If he wasn't I would know about it." Daryl tried to duck out from under Merle's arm but he held tight. "Now you got a kid so I know you ain't no virgin, but you might as well be." He turned to look at Carol. "You got pregnant to first time you had sex. Now that guy was an asshole so you don't even have to count it if you don't want. You can be like one of those born again virgins or something."

"Merle, shut the hell up." Daryl knew Carol didn't like talking about what happened back then.

"Alright, alright." Merle held his hands up in defeat. "My point is, if you need any pointers you know where to find me."

"On that note, I think I'm going to go see if your mom needs any help." Carol turned towards the kitchen.

"Hold up." Merle grabbed her arm tugged her back. He was grinning.

"What?"

 _Why is Merle staring at me like that?_

He reached out, took her chin in his hand, and turned it at angle towards the light. If it was possible, his grin only got wider.

"Damn, little sis," he chuckled. "That's some hickey you got there." He turned to Daryl and released Carol's chin. "Nice work, didn't know you had it in you. I say that'll be there a week, tops. You can trust me, I'm an expert on hickeys. There was this one time-"

Carol slipped out the living room and into the kitchen before she could hear the rest of Merle's story. She thought about taking Sophia with her so she wouldn't wake up hearing something she shouldn't, but decided she was sleeping pretty soundly. When she got like that nothing would wake her.

"Need some help?" Carol asked Mary, who was stirring a bowl of potato salad.

"Yes, thank you. I know neither of those two will help." She nodded towards the sack on the counter. "Can you make the salad?"

"Sure." Carol washed her hands in the sink and began drying them on a towel. "Sophia wasn't any trouble, was she?" She put the vegetables in the sink so she could rinse them.

"She was an angel. Went to sleep almost as soon as I put her down." She wrapped plastic around the potato salad and set it aside. She sat down at the table. "Bring that stuff over here, I'll help you."

"Good. She didn't sleep well last night and earlier she refused to go down for nap." Carol gathered up the vegetables, dropped them the salad bowl, and took a seat at the table. They worked in silence for a few minutes before Mary spoke.

"You know, you're really lucky." She dropped the sliced cucumbers into the bowl.

"I am? How?" Carol began tearing up the lettuce.

Mary looked off into the distance. "Did you know I was seventeen when I had Merle?"

Carol nodded. Daryl had told her that when she got pregnant with Sophia.

"You had your family to help you when you got pregnant. I didn't have that. That's how I ended up married to a man like Caleb Dixon."

"Your parents wouldn't help you?" Dale had been so supportive of her when she told him she was pregnant and had helped in any way he could.

"No, they didn't like that I was dating him in the first place. So when I got pregnant they pretty much told me that I had made my bed and I had to lie it. When Caleb asked me to marry him, it had seemed like to right thing to do."

"Was he-" Carol began, unsure of how to ask what she was thinking.

"Abusive?" Mary finished for her, and shook her head. "No. He was one of the sweetest boys in town. Somewhere along the line he changed. Maybe it was because we got married so young and the stress of bills and a new baby. Maybe it was all of it. Or that's what he was always like underneath, and I was just too young and in love to see it. By the time I realized what he was really like I felt like it was too late. I didn't have anyone to help me. I felt trapped. I had started drinking to help me forget about how bad life was. But I don't regret it – not completely – because I got Merle and Daryl from it." She looked at Carol who looked like she wanted to cry. "Don't, sweetheart." She stood up and put her arms around her. "I didn't tell you any of that to upset you."

"I know. I just hate that you had to go through that." She wiped her eyes on the dish towel Mary handed her. "I just feel the same about Sophia. I hate that I slept with Sophia's father but I don't regret it because I got her out of it and I wouldn't trade her for anything."

Mary nodded. "You understand. Carol, I know how much you care about my son."

"I do." She wasn't sure where she was going with this. But she was beginning to think Daryl was right when he said his mom was keeping something from him.

"I'm going to have to tell him something that isn't going to be easy for him to hear. I'm not sure how he's going to take it. He's not going to be too happy with me when I tell him. And I just need to know that you're going to be there for him when I do."

"Of course I will." Carol had a bad feeling about what she was going to tell Daryl. She just hoped it didn't hurt him too badly.

Mary patted her on the shoulder. "Good. Now go tell them dinner's ready and I'll finish up."

Carol nodded and walked out of the room.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sophia, try the potato salad. It's really good." Carol held out the spoon to her.

"No. Looks funny." Sophia said and pressed her lips together.

"You'll like it. I promise." Carol took a bite to prove to her that was good and this wasn't some sort of trick.

Sophia still looked skeptical. Carol shrugged. "Alright. If you're not going to eat it, I guess I will." Carol went to pick up the plate.

"No. Mine." Sophia covered the plate with her hands.

"Are you going to eat it?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sophia nodded and took a small bite. She chewed for moment before swallowing, and took the spoon from Carol, declaring she could feed herself.

"Carol?" Merle called.

"Yeah?" She wiped her mouth on her napkin before looking up.

"Your cousin Andrea…she seeing anybody?" Merle took a bite of a biscuit and looked her expectantly.

Carol wasn't expecting that. She knew that Andrea had a bit of a crush on Merle. The last time Merle had been home was nearly two years ago, and from what she remembered they didn't really get along. What had changed? She looked at Daryl and he shrugged his shoulders.

Andrea had gone on that blind date with that friend of Rick's but she hadn't mentioned him since. Carol shook her head. "No, she's not dating anybody."

Merle nodded. "Good." He went back to shoveling food into his mouth. _

Everyone finished eating a few minutes later. Even Sophia, who despite her protests about the potato salad had actually finished what was on her plate, plus a couple of bites from Daryl's plate. They began gathering their plates to take to the kitchen.

"Sophia, want to come with me and get some cookies?" Daryl took her hand and looked at Carol to make sure it was alright.

Carol nodded. "Go ahead."

As he, Sophia and Mary headed for the kitchen, he turned to look at Merle and nodded toward Carol.

"Hey, little sis." Merle motioned for her come out on the porch. He lit a cigarette once they were outside.

Carol followed him and shut the door behind her. "What's going on?"

"You know I didn't mean nothing by what I said earlier, right?"

"I know." She knew Merle was only trying to help. She didn't like when anybody brought up Sophia's father. But she knew Merle didn't mean anything by it. She also knew Daryl had told him to apologize to her. When she had gone to tell them dinner was ready, she had heard them talking. Daryl had told Merle he needed to apologize. Carol didn't think it was necessary but she knew Daryl was only looking out for her.

"I was just saying that to help. The guy that got you pregnant was an asshole. But don't let that ruin it what you have with Daryl. He ain't like that. He won't hurt you." He put out his cirgarette in the bucket of sand they kept on the porch for the butts.

"I know he wouldn't. I trust him." Carol knew Daryl wouldn't hurt her. Since they had started dating he didn't touch her unless he was sure that's what she wanted.

"Good," He nodded. "Oh, and don't let him suck on your neck like that."

Carol laughed and leaned up to kiss Merle's cheek. "I'll tell Andrea you say hi." She slipped back in the house before he could protest.

While Carol was getting Sophia ready to go home, Merle pulled Daryl aside to talk to him.

"After you drop them off, don't take too long getting back."

"Why not?" Daryl asked, pulling on his jacket.

"Me and Mom need to talk to you about something. It's important."

"What is it?" He wasn't sure before but he was now. Before he and Carol had gone to the store he had heard his mom and Merle whispering about something. He couldn't hear what they were talking about but he knew they were up to something.

"We'll talk about it later. Just don't be too hard on her when she tells you."

Before he could ask any more questions, Carol and Sophia came out the kitchen. Carol was carrying a wrapped plate, and Sophia had a plastic bag full of oatmeal raisin cookies that Mary had given her to take home.

"You ready to go?" Daryl asked.

Carol nodded as she helped Sophia put on her jacket. They waited by the door while Sophia said goodbye and hugged Merle and Mary. While Carol loved that Sophia was so friendly, it also worried her because everyone she met was a potential friend to her. She didn't understand that some people aren't her friends and she shouldn't talk to them. _

Daryl pulled up in front of Carol's house. Sophia had fallen asleep, so while Carol carried her inside, Daryl put the car seat back in Carol's car. He carried the leftovers his mom had sent inside.

Dale was stretched out on the couch watching a movie. "Hi, Daryl, how's your brother? Must be good to see him after he's been gone for so long." He said, and sat up.

"Yeah, I missed him." Daryl said, and held out the plate. "My mom sent some leftovers from dinner."

Dale took them and sat them on the table. "Thanks, I already ate. But I'll bring them with me tomorrow for lunch," he said, carrying the plate to the fridge. "Hey, tell your brother if wants some work while he's home, he can come to the garage."

"I'll tell him."

Carol came into the kitchen from the hall. "Daryl."

Daryl turned to look at her. "Sophia asleep?."

"Yeah. Fell asleep as soon as I put her down."

"Walk me out?" he asked.

They kissed on the porch for a few minutes before Daryl pulled away. He rubbed his hand against the hickey on her neck. "I'm sorry about that."

Carol smiled. "Don't be. I kind of like it. But Michonne and Andrea are going to hound me tomorrow for details so maybe I should return the favor." She grinned widely.

Daryl chuckled. "Maybe next time. Merle said Mom has something to talk to me about. Said it was important."

Carol frowned. "Your mom said the same thing to me. She said you were going to be upset about it."

"Did she say anything else? Like what it was about, maybe?"

"No, she didn't. But we did talk about your dad."

Daryl stiffened. "What about him?"

"Nothing specific, she just told me about how she got pregnant and felt like she couldn't leave because she didn't have anyone to help her."

Daryl nodded. "She don't really talk about him much. What if he's getting out?"

"He got ten years, didn't he? It's only been six."

Daryl shrugged. "Yeah, but people get out early all the time."

"If he is, are you going to be okay?" she grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"I'll have to be. Nothing much I can do about it. Just as along as he stays away from my mom," he sighed. "I better go find out what's going on."

Carol nodded and leaned up to kiss him quickly on the lips. "Okay. I'm here if you need me."

Daryl nodded. "Goodnight."

"Night." Carol watched until he was out of sight.

When Daryl got back to the house Merle and his mom were sitting on the couch drinking coffee. They looked up when he came into the room. He dropped his keys on the table and took a seat on the couch.

"Alright. Ya'll wanna tell me what's going on?"

Mary set her coffee on the table. She scooted so she was sitting a little closer to him.

"It's about your dad," she said slowly.

"He getting out?" he asked even though he was sure he already knew the answer.

Merle spoke up. "Bastard's already out," he sneered.

"Damn. He was supposed to serve ten years." He'd been afraid of this.

"I know, but he got an early parole and they decided he was ready to be released."

Daryl shook his head. "Ain't they supposed to tell us about that or something?"

Mary nodded her head. "They did. I only found out about the hearing because Hershel Greene's brother is on the parole board and he told me about it. I went to it last month."

"How come you didn't tell me?" He would have gone and told them to never let him out. He couldn't believe she didn't tell him.

"Because I didn't really believe they would let him out and I wanted to spare you from having to see him if it wasn't necessary. I was worried seeing him would hurt you."

"I wish you'd told me. I could've been there with you."

She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I know. But I really don't think it would have made much of a difference."

"You still should have told me."

"Don't be too hard on her, brother. She thought she was doing the right thing," said Merle.

Daryl ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah, I know. You don't think he's planning on coming back here, do you?"

"I hope not. I talked to the Sheriff and he said that he's living just outside of Senoia in a halfway house. Tomorrow morning I'm going to see about getting a restraining order."

Merle stood up. "He better not show his face around here or I'll show him what a Columbian necktie looks like." He hadn't been able to protected them back then but he'd be damned if he let Caleb hurt them now.

"Merle!" Mary let go of Daryl's hand and stood up. "You will do no such thing. You will let the police handle Caleb. We don't even know if he will show up here." She was not going to have her son get arrested.

"Fine. I'll stay away from him just as long as he stays away from you two."

Mary sighed. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she would take it.

Daryl stood up from the couch. "I need to get out of here for awhile." He headed for the door.

"Daryl, sweetheart. Wait." Mary followed him to the door. She placed her hand on his arm.

Daryl pulled his arm away from her. "I'll be back," he said, walking out the door.

She started towards the door to go after him.

Merle pulled her away. "Just leave him be. He said he'll be back, so he'll be back. He just needs some time to think."

They watched as Daryl walked out the door and down the street. Neither of them noticed the silhouette of a man across the street standing in shadow of a street light.


	11. Chapter 11

He'd already walked to the end of the driveway by the time he realized he didn't grab his keys. _Screw it. Carol's house isn't that far, anyway._ The walk would help clear his head. [non-italic]e

He couldn't believe his mom didn't tell him about Caleb getting out sooner or that she had gone to the parole hearing. He would have gone and made sure to tell those people to never let him out. They didn't understand how dangerous he was, all they did was read a piece of paper. They didn't know him.

Once, when Daryl was ten years old, Caleb had taken him to collect some money from someone. When the man told Caleb that he didn't have it, Daryl watched his father beat the man until his face was a bloody mess. The man was lying on the ground begging and Caleb just didn't care.

When he made it to Carol's he walked around to the back of the house where her room was. He could see the light shining through the open window. He shook his head. Her room was on the ground floor. He told her she shouldn't leave the window open at night. Any weirdo could just crawl right through…like he was getting ready to do.

Carol was lying propped up in bed reading over her notes; she had a test tomorrow in her child development class. She hadn't been able to go to sleep, she was worrying about what Daryl's mom had said to her about him. She was going to tell him something that would hurt him, and Daryl had told her he thought she was keeping something from him. She was beginning to think he was right.

" _Ahhh!_ " She jumped up nearly a foot and dropped her notebook off the side of the bed when she heard a sharp banging against her window. She threw off the covers and went to the window, she could barely make out Daryl's silhouette in the pale moonlight. She opened the screen and leaned out. "What are you doing?"

"Can I come in?" he was already pulling himself in the window as he asked. Carol grabbed hold of his forearms to help him the rest of the way given that her window was at least a couple feet from the ground.

"What are you doing?" She tried to keep her voice down since everyone else in the house had gone to bed. She let go of him long enough to shut the door connecting her room to Sophia's, turning on the monitor so she would be able to hear her if she woke up. "What's wrong?" She had just gotten a look at his face. He looked a little pale and his eyes were slightly red.

Instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own, taking in what she was wearing. "Do you sleep in that?" She was wearing a pair of dark colored boxer shorts and tank top with a picture of a cartoon frog on it. She looked really cute.

She glanced down at herself. Was there something wrong with what she was wearing? She shook her head. "Daryl, what's wrong?" She took his hand, pulled him down to sit next to her on the bed, and gave his hand a squeeze.

He began tracing small patterns on her hand with his finger. "I was right. She was keeping something from me and Merle knew about it, too."

"Was it about your dad?" She laid her head on his shoulder and he laid his against hers.

He chuckled ironically. "Caleb's out jail."

"What did you say when she told you?" She moved behind him and began rubbing his neck trying to help relieve some tension.

He buried his face in his hands. "Fuck," he groaned and rubbed his hands against his face. "I yelled at her. I didn't mean to do that. I think I scared her."

Carol pulled his hands away from his face. "I'm sure you didn't scare her." He looked like he was about to argue with her. She covered his mouth with her hand to stop anything he would say. "And she knows you didn't mean it when you yelled. She knows you were just upset."

"I guess. I don't want her think I hate her. I'm mad her for lying but I don't hate her."

"She doesn't think that. Trust me."

He nodded his head. He still wasn't sure he believed her but Carol was usually right about these things.

"You can apologize to her tomorrow. Then you two can talk about this when you both have had some rest. Come on." She pulled him down to lie on the bed. "Take off your shoes."

"Huh?" Surely, she didn't want them to sleep in the same bed.

"You're not sleeping in my bed with your shoes on."

"I can't sleep in here." He sat up and tried to stand. "I'll sleep on the floor."

She tugged him back down. "Don't be ridiculous. The floor is cold and uncomfortable. There's plenty of room for both of us." She gestured to the bed. He still looked reluctant. "Come on." She pulled on his arm to get him to lie back down. "I promise not to try anything," she teased, grinning at him.

"Wasn't you I was worried about," he mumbled. How was he supposed to keep his hands off her if they were sleeping in the same bed?

"What?"

"Nothing." He kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket on the floor. "Let's go to sleep." He pulled the covers up over them and she turned off the bedside lamp.

She snuggled into his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. "Is this okay?"

"It's nice." It really was. It felt good having her close. "Just don't move around too much okay."

"Okay," she giggled.

"What?" he raised his head slightly to look at her.

"Nothing, I was just thinking that you're the first guy to climb through my bedroom window."

He chuckled and laid his head back down. "Good. Because you're the first girl whose window I crawled through."

"Good."

She snuggled deeper into his chest and soon they were both asleep.

Daryl woke up the next morning to find Carol draped across him like blanket, her face buried in his neck. He had to smile when he looked at her. Her hair was sticking up in every direction and her shirt had ridden up her stomach in her sleep to reveal her creamy white skin. He wanted to reach out and run his hand over it, but he couldn't do that. It was only going to make his little morning problem worse. He needed to get her off him before she woke up and realized. He shifted and tried to roll her off him.

Her eyes slowly opened and she smiled up at him. "Morning."

"Morning. Sleep good?"

She nodded. "The best." She scooted so she was sitting up in the bed. "How about you?"

"Yeah. I like waking up next to you. Should do it more often."

"I'd like that," she said as she blushed. "Did you walk here?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah, speaking of that. I better get out of here so I can get ready for school. And I don't want your uncle catching me in here. He won't ever let me come over again."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dale loves you. But if you're really worried about it you just wait in here and when he goes to work I'll drive you home."

"Carol, you don't have to-" he began, but she raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine, I'll wait in here."

Before he could sit up he felt something tug on his foot. He turned to see a pair of blue-green eyes peering at him from the end of the bed. "Hey," said Sophia.

"Morning 'Phia," said Daryl, reaching down to help her onto the bed when he saw her struggling to pull herself up.

"I'm hungry." She crawled into Daryl lap and flopped down, puting her hands on either side of his face. "I want oatmeal."

Carol giggled at the serious look on her face. "Come on, Sophia. Let's go get some oatmeal." She stood and picked up Sophia.

When they reached the door Sophia called out. "Come on, Darwol. Oatmeal." She reached for him.

"I'll be in there in few minutes, sweetheart." He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. "You go with your Mama."

She nodded as Carol slipped out the door, shutting it behind her.

When she got to the kitchen, Andrea was already there sipping a glass of juice. She was staring at Carol as if she knew something Carol didn't. Carol sat Sophia down in her chair with the booster seat. They had gotten it last month when Sophia refused to sit in her high chair anymore. She had even figured out how to climb out of it.

She gave Sophia a piece of string cheese to hold her until she could fix the oatmeal. Andrea was still staring at her.

"What?" she said, exasperated.

Andrea smirked. "Did you have fun last night?"

"At dinner?" she pulled the can of oatmeal from the cabinet and put some water on to boil. "It was okay."

"I'm talking about after dinner," said Andrea.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Pass me the sugar and the cinnamon."

She handed them to Carol. "So you're telling me that Daryl didn't spend last night in your room?"

"Andrea," Carol gasped and looked around. What if Dale heard that?

"Relax, he's in the bathroom. He can't hear us." She poured another glass of juice and handed it to Carol. "So, what happened?"

Carol took a sip of the juice and stirred the oatmeal. "Nothing. We just talked and then we went to sleep."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. He was upset about something and needed to talk."

"What's going on?"

Before she could answer, Amy came into the room, threw her backpack on the floor and sat down. "What are you guys talking about?" She reached for the milk and cereal that was sitting on the table.

Andrea passed her a bowl and a spoon. "Daryl spent last night in Carol's room."

Amy's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god. Did you guys do it?"

" _Amy_ ," Carol and Andrea yelled at the same time.

Before anything else could be said, Dale walked into the room. "Morning, girls," he said. He pulled a large thermos from the cabinet to poor some coffee. "Did everyone sleep alright?"

"Good," said Andrea.

"Fine," said Carol.

Amy had a mouth full of cereal so she nodded her head.

Dale didn't miss the fact that they were all avoiding eye contact. They were hiding something.

"Amy, if you hurry and brush your teeth I'll take you school."

"Okay," she said, getting up and running down the hall to the bathroom.

"Did you want some oatmeal?" asked Carol as she fixed Sophia a bowl and set it in front her. She gave her a spoon. She liked to feed herself even though half of it always ended up on her or the floor.

"No thanks, I'll grab something in town. But I'll bet Daryl would like some."

Carol nearly spit out the juice she had just taken a sip of. "What?" There was no way he knew.

Dale smiled at her and walked down the hall. "Hey, Daryl?" he called. "Come on out and get some breakfast while it's still hot."

Daryl walked out of the room carrying his shoes. "Hey, Dale," he said, his face red all the way up to his hairline.

"Morning, son. Did you have a good sleep?"

"I'm real sorry about this. We didn't…I didn't…I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

Dale put his hand up to stop him. "Daryl, it's okay. I trust you and I trust Carol."

Daryl nodded. He was relieved Dale wasn't mad at him. He was worried he might tell him he couldn't come over anymore or see Carol.

"But next time you need a place to stay you can just use the front door, okay?"

"Okay, thanks." He was feeling a lot better about this whole thing now.

Dale nodded. "Come on, Amy. We gotta go," he called down the hall.

Amy came out of the bathroom, grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. Dale followed behind her but stopped just before he went outside. "Oh, and Daryl?" Daryl looked up at him from where he had been chewing on his nail. "Just so you know, the couch is pretty comfortable." He shut the door behind him.

After he left Carol walked over to Daryl and wrapped her arms around him. "I can't believe that happened," she giggled into his chest.

"Don't laugh. That was embarrassing."

"It wasn't that bad. It could have been worse. He could have been mad."

"Yeah I guess." He pulled her against him and buried his face in her neck.

"Hey," called Andrea. "I'll see you guys at school. Don't be late and don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said as she walked out the door.

They kept holding each other for a minute before Daryl pulled back. "Hey," he said and waited until she was looking at him. "Do you have to work after school on Friday?"

Carol leaned back so she could get a better look at him. "No, why?"

"I was thinking we could go down to the fair and take Sophia. Remember I told her the three of us could go somewhere. We could ride the rides and play some games. What do you think?"

"That sounds fun. She's never been there before. She'll love it."

"Good." He kissed her forehead. "We better hurry or we're going to be late."

"Why don't you eat something while I get Sophia cleaned up and then I'll take you home," she said, pulling away from him.

"Alright." He watched as Carol picked up Sophia and carried her to the bathroom.


	12. Chapter 12

By the time Carol had dropped him off at home, Daryl's mom had already left for work. If he hurried, he would have time to go by the diner and talk to her before class. He took a quick shower and got dressed. He was on his way out the door when Merle came out his room, still half asleep.

"Well, there you are. About time, you showed up. You had mom real worried, you know?" Merle leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"I know that. I'm going to talk to her before school. I just needed to think." Daryl grabbed his keys and backpack.

"Good. See that you do."

"I'm going to. Get off my ass."

"Fine." Merle was quite for a moment before he spoke again. "So, what did you and Carol do last night? I know that's where you ended up."

"You been talking to Andrea?"

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"Well, nothing happened. We just went to sleep."

Merle frowned at him. "So, you was in her bed and nothing happened?" He shook his head. "I thought I taught you better than that."

"Damn it, Merle. We wasn't going to do something with her whole family right there in the house. Her daughter was right in the next room."

"Relax, I was just fucking with you. Don't get your panties in wad."

"Whatever, I gotta go." He started out the door. "Oh, yeah. Carol's uncle said to tell you, to come by the garage if you wanted some work while you were home.

"Sure, I'll do that."

"See you later."

When Daryl got to the diner he found his mom sitting in one of the booths going over the receipts. She smiled when she saw him.

"Hey, mom."

She pushed aside what she was working on. "Hi, sweetheart. Did you have anything to eat? Let me get you a plate." She moved to get up.

"Nah, I ate at Carol's."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "I hope Dale wasn't too upset."

He shook his head. "No, he was alright. Look, I'm sorry about walking out like that last night. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay, I know you were upset. I should've told you about what was going on sooner. I didn't want you to have to see him."

"I get it. You pissed at me for leaving last night?"

"No." she leaned forward kissed him on top of the head. "I was worried."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's fine. I need you to meet me at the courthouse after school."

"What for?"

"I'm going down there to file a restraining order. You need to be there so you can file one of you own. Sheriff Grimes is going to meet us down there."

"You really think a piece of paper is going to keep him away?"

"Probably not. But if he violates it he'll go right back to jail."

"Good. That's where he belongs."

"You'd better get going before you're late."

He looked at the clock on the wall. "Too late for that."

She picked up an order pad, tore off a sheet and wrote on the back. "Here. Now get going."

"I don't think this a good idea." A woman with short dark said from where she sat on the bed of a hotel room. "What about the restraining order?"

"I don't recall asking you what the hell you think." The man lit a cigarette and glanced out the window. "And to hell with the restraining order, you think I care what some little piece of paper says."

"I just think that there might be a better way to go about this." She flinched when he stalked towards her and grabbed her arm, jerking her up.

" _Ahh!_ " She tried to pull her arm away but his grip only tightened. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face. She would have fallen if his grip hadn't been so tight.

He pointed a finger her face. "Now, you listen to me. You are going to shut up and do as you are told. They owe me and they are going to pay. Now do you remember your part?" he asked, releasing her arm.

"Yeah, I remember." She wiped the blood from her lip.

"Good. Clean yourself up. We have some things to take care of first."

"So, what do want to ride now?" asked Daryl, reaching down to pick up Sophia, who was tugging on the end of his shirt. They had already ridden some of the kid-friendly rides. He kind of wished they'd come with somebody else, who could watch Sophia, so he could ride the roller coaster with Carol. The last time they rode it had been before she got pregnant with Sophia and she had kept a death grip on his arm the entire time.

Carol glanced around the crowded fair. "Umm…how about the bumper cars? The line's pretty short." She pointed in the direction of the bumper cars.

"I don't know. Last time you got pretty aggressive." They had come here a couple of years ago and Carol had rammed the other cars so hard that the people had actually complained to the man in charge of the ride and she had gotten kicked off the ride.

She rolled her eyes. "I was not aggressive. Those people were just wimps."

Daryl chuckled. "Alright." He took her hand. "Come on. Hopefully no one will recognize you."

"That's not nice. I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Well, let's say I'm glad you don't do that when you're driving a real car."

"I'm going to get you for that."

"Looking forward to it." He wrapped is free arm around her and pulled her into his side. "Hey, Sophia?"

She turned her head to look at him. "What do you say me and you team against your mama?"

"Yeah," she said, clapping her hands together.

Carol wasn't certain if Sophia knew what she was agreeing to but she seemed happy so it didn't matter.

A few minutes later they made it to the front of the line.

"Okay, Sophia. Which car do you want?"

She looked around and pointed to the only pink car. Daryl groaned – she would pick out the only pink car there was. Oh well, who cares? He wasn't going to tell her no.

After getting her buckled in, Daryl explained what they were going to do.

"I'm going to need you to help me steer? Can you do that?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Mama?" she asked, looking around.

"She's right over there in that purple car. See?"

Sophia stretched up so she could see better.

"Now, what we're going to do is, we are going to try and bump your mama's car with ours. And if she comes after us we have to move away as fast as we can."

"Okay." She placed her hands on the wheel and Daryl put his over top of her to help her steer.

"Alright, here we go," he said.

"I can't believe they kicked us off the ride." Carol huffed as the adjusted Sophia, who was riding piggy back, arms wrapped wrapped so tightly around Carol's neck that she was having trouble breathing.

"Technically, only you got kicked off. We just went with you."

"Whatever." She rolled eyes. It was fun while it lasted. She could tell Sophia had a lot of fun helping Daryl drive the little car.

Daryl leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Come on, don't be mad."

Sophia giggled and buried her face in Carol's hair when she saw Daryl kiss her mommy. That had been happening a lot. Was Daryl going to be her Daddy now? Lots of kids in her class had daddies and she wanted one too.

"You think that's funny." Daryl leaned forward and tickled her belly, giving her a kiss on the cheek and causing her to giggle even more.

"Come on," he said, taking Carol's hand. "Let's go find something to ride where you can't hurt nobody."

"Fine." She tried to sound mad but she smiled and followed after him.

"Do y'all want a snow cone?" he asked while they were standing in line for the carousel.

"Oh, yeah. I would love one."

"What flavor do y'all want?"

"Purple," said Carol.

"Pink," said Sophia with her face buried in Carol's hair.

Daryl opened his mouth to point out that those were colors, not flavors. But then he shook is head. It didn't matter.

When he turned around he bumped into Rick and Michonne who had just gotten in line behind him.

"Hey," Carol greeted them. "I didn't know you guys were coming."

Michonne shrugged. "I hadn't been in a while and when I told Rick he thought it sounded like fun."

"I'm glad you came. It'll be even more fun now."

"Hey, guys," said Daryl. "She got kicked off the bumper cars."

"Again?" said Rick laughing at her.

"Michonne covered her mouth to suppress the giggles.

"Are you guys ever going to let that go?" Carol squatted down to put Sophia down. She was getting way to heavy. She took a hold of Sophia's hand as soon she was on the ground.

"Nope, it's too much fun to tease you about it." Michonne wrapped her in a half hug.

"You are mean, mean people," said Carol, turning around to face away from them.

Daryl leaned towards her and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be right back." He saw the corner of her mouth quirk up so he knew she wasn't really mad, she was just giving him a hard time.

"Rick, come with me. I'm getting snow cones."

"Get me a red one," called Michonne as they were walking away.

"Hey, how's it going?" asked Rick as they got into the line for the snow cones.

"Pretty good. Sophia's having fun."

"That's good. But I meant with your dad being out."

Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. "It's fine. Ain't heard nothing from him. Filed a restraining order on him the other day."

Rick nodded his head. "I know, my granddad told me. He served it to him yesterday." Rick's grandfather had been the county Sherriff for the past twenty years and he was up for re-election next month.

Daryl was quiet for a moment. "Did he say anything?"

"My granddad?"

"No. Caleb." He refused to call him dad. He didn't deserve that title.

"No, not really. Granddad said he was pissed. Cussed him and slammed the door in his face."

Daryl nodded. That's about what he expected. As long he stayed away from his mom. He could snort and stomp all he wanted.

"Come on, it's our turn," said Rick, tilting his head towards the window.

"So, what really happened with you guys when Daryl spent the night?" asked Michonne. They had gotten out of line for the carousal, deciding to wait on the guys to come back so they could all ride together.

"I already told you. We talked and then we went to sleep. But—"

"But what?" asked Michonne, leaning closer they could talk without Sophia hearing something she shouldn't.

"When I woke up, I was practically on top of him."

Michonne smiled. "That sounds nice."

"Yeah, it was. I don't know if I'm ready for anything else. I got pregnant with Sophia the first time I had sex. And that was really unpleasant." She glanced at Sophia to make sure she wasn't paying attention the conversation. But she was too busy playing with the doll that Daryl had won for her throwing darts at balloons. "I don't want to have two babies before I graduate high school."

"Well, that's because you were with a pig before. It wouldn't be like that with Daryl. He cares about you."

"I know. I guess I'm just nervous."

"Well, just take your time. You'll know when you're ready. And in the meantime you can go on the pill."

Carol nodded. "That's a good idea." She'd actually been thinking about it since she and Daryl had gotten together. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

"What's taking them so long?" said Michonne. "I want my snow cone."

Carol opened her mouth to respond but someone slammed into her knocking her off balance. And causing her to lose her grip on Sophia's hand."Hey," yelled Carol. "Watch it." But the guy that had bumped into her had already walked off.

"Why don't you watch where you're going? Idiot!" yelled Michonne. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She glanced down. "Sophia, are you-"

Sophia wasn't there.

" _Sophia_ ," yelled Carol, looking around.

Michonne looked around. "Where did she go? _Sophia,_ " yelled Michonne.

Carol shook her head. This wasn't happening. "She was right there."

"Sophia! Where are you?" She ran around the corner of the carousel, but didn't see her anywhere. Her chest felt tight. Everything seemed to be moving too fast and too slow at the same time.

Michonne grabbed her arm. "She couldn't have gotten far. You go that way." She pointed to right. I'm going to go that way and grab the guys and we'll go to security." She gave Carol a shove to get her going.

Carol ran through the crowd of people shouting Sophia's name.

" _Sophia!_ "


End file.
